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XJniv.of  Ill.  Library 
52 

THE 


God  of  Civilization. 


A  ROMANCE 

-  BY  — 


MRS.  M.  A.  PITTOCK, 

AUTHOR  OF  “WAS  HK  A  LEPER?”  IN  PRESS. 


Copyright  1890.  All  rights  reserved . 


CHICAGO  : 

EUREKA  PUBLISHING  COMPANY. 


TO 

FRANCES  M.  BLUMAUER, 

The  valued  friend  who  pointed  out  to  me  a  pleasant  path 
wherein  my  feet  might  tread  ;  and  to  whose  loving  advice  I 
shall  owe  whatever  of  success  I  may  hereafter  achieve. 

The  Author. 


Chicago ,  Oct 1890. 


The  God  of  Civilization. 


CHAPTER  I. 

4  4  Oh !  I  have  grown  so  tired  of  this  continual 
round  of  parties,  calls,  and  theatre  going;  I  do 
wish  something  would  happen  to  break  the  monot¬ 
ony  of  my  life.” 

The  foregoing  remark  was  made  by  Mabel  Miller, 
who  spoke  in  a  very  discontented  manner. 

44  Why,  Mabel,  how  can  you  talk  of  monotony? 
There  is  not  a  girl  in  our  acquaintance  who  has 
more  delightful  changes  of  amusement  than  your¬ 
self.  What  with  your  winters,  a  succession  of 
gaieties,  your  summers  at  Santa  Cruz  or  Monterey, 
I  don’t  see  how  you  can  be  so  discontented.”  It 
was  Mabel’s  cousin,  Rucy  Maynard,  who  spoke. 

4  4  Oh,  I  know  that  is  what  you  always  say,  but 
it  does  not  alter  the  fact  that  I  am  sick  of  it  all.” 

44  Well,  well,  what’s  the  trouble?  What  is  this, 
that  my  little  girl  is  so  sick  of?”  Mabel  turned 
hastily  as  these  words  of  her  father’s  caught  her 

*  ear. 

T  44  Why,  papa,  I  didn’t  know  you  were  here  or  I 
might  not  have  said  what  I  did;  I  ought- to  be 

>  contented,  I  know,  after  all  you  do  for  me.” 

-ST 


4 


The  God  of  Civilization. 

“  Come,  come;  this  won’t  do,  little  girl.  If  you 
are  unhappy  why  shouldn’t  your  old  father  know 
all  about  it  ?  ” 

“I  am  not  unnappy,  papa,  only  I  am  so  tired  of 
everything.  I  was  just  saying  I  did  wish  .some¬ 
thing  out  of  the  ordinary  way  might  happen.” 

“  How  would  a  trip  to  Australia  do  for  novelty, 
Mabel?” 

“Oh,  papa,  do  you  mean  it?  I  would  like  it 
above  all  things.  I  have  always  wanted  to  go 
there.  ’  ’ 

“Well,  Mabel,  if  you  think  you  can  be  ready  in 
a  week’s  time  you  shall  go.  I  met  our  old  friend 
Captain  Gray  to-day,  and  it  seems  he  is  bound  for 
Australia,  and  is  going  to  take  his  wife  and  two 
daughters  along  with  him,  and  he  has  room  for 
one  or  two  more  on  board ;  so  there  is  a  chance  for 
you  to  go,  if  you  like.” 

“Won’t  that  be  splendid?”  cried  Mabel,  clapp¬ 
ing  her  hands  and  dancing  gleefully  about  the 
room  like  a  child. 

“  But,  Mabel,  you  must  remember  it  is  a  sailing 
vessel,  and  not  a  steamer,  that  you  are  to  go  on, 
and,  aren’t  you  afraid  that  the  number  of  weeks 
it  will  take  you  to  reach  your  destination,  will 
prove  as  monotonous  as  parties  and  calls  do  now.  ’  ’ 

“  I  don’t  mind  the  length  of  time  that  we  shall 
be  in  going.  I  shall  find  something  amusing  I  feel 
sure  ;  will  you  go  too,  Lucy?” 

“Oh  no,  thank  you;  you  will  have  to  excuse 
me;”  laughed  Lucy.  I  like  the  present  order  of 


5 


The  God  of  Civilisation . 

tilings  very  well  and  will  try  a  little  while  longer 
to  find  amusement  in  balls,  and  so  on,  and  then 
besides  there  is  Harrv  yon  know,  I  couldn’t  leave 
him.” 

“No,  indeed,  I  do  not  intend  to  spare  both  of 
my  dear  girls  at  once;  what  in  the  world  would  I 
do  with  you  both  away,  ’  ’  said  Mr.  Miller. 

“But,  papa,  you  don’t  mean  to  sav  that  you  are 
not  going  too,  ’  ’  asked  Mabel . 

“Why,  of  course,  that  is  what  I  mean;  did  my 
girlie  think  I  could  drop  everything  and  trot  off  to 
the  antipodes  with  her  at  a  moment’s  notice?  No, 
Mabel,  I  can’t  go;  but  you  will  be  well  cared  for, 
as  Mrs.  Gray,  I  know,  will  look  after  your  wel¬ 
fare  as  closely  as  would  your  own  mother  if  she 
were  living.  And  her  two  daughters  will  prove 
most  delightful  companions  if  they  are  half  as 
amiable  as  they  are  pretty.” 

4  ‘They  are  lovely  girls.  I  met  them  last  sum¬ 
mer  at  Santa  Cruz,  and  liked  them  ever  so  much . 
I  know  we  shall  have  a  nice  time.” 

“All  right,  then;  you  had  better  begin  your 
preparations,  as  young  ladies  are  not  noted  for 
their  ability  to  do  things  up  well  at  short  notice.” 

“I  could  be  ready  to  go  to-morrow,  but  as  long 
as  I  have  a  week  to  get  ready  in  I  expect  I  shall 
find  every  minute  of  the  time  taken  up,  so  I  am 
oft  to  make  a  beginning.  Lucy,  will  you  run 
down  to  O’Brien’s  with  me?  I  shall  want  a  dress 
or  so,  and  you  are  such  an  authority  on  such 
things,  I  want  you  with  me  when  I  choose  them.” 


6 


The  God  of  Civilization. 

“Yes,  I  will  go  to  O’Brien’s  with  yon;  that  is 
much  more  ^o  my  taste  than  a  disagreeable,  tedious 
voyage  to  Australia,”  answered  Lucy. 

The  two  girls  left  the  room  to  don  hats  and 
wraps  for  their  shopping  tour;  and  as  they  left  it 
Mrs.  Maynard,  Lucy’s  mother,  who  had  entered 
the  room  in  time  to  catch  a  part  of  the  conversa¬ 
tion,  came  toward  Mr.  Miller  with  rather  a 
troubled  look  on  her  face,  saying,  “James,  how 
can  you  propose  such  a  thing  as  this  trip  for  Mabel; 
you  really  encourage  her  in  her  foolish  notions  of 
dislike  for  conventionalities.  She  has  no  mother, 
poor  child,  to  explain  to  her,  her  duties  and  respon¬ 
sibilities,  and  I’m  sure  I  have  tried  my  best,  if  ever 
a  woman  tried,  ever  since  I  have  been  living  here, 
to  make  her  see  how  foolish  she  is  to  be  always 
wishing  for  some  new  mode  of  life.  She  almost 
drives  me  to  despair  with  her  whims  and  her  no¬ 
tions.  You  ought  to  help  me  in  my  efforts  for  her 
good.  ’  ’ 

“Come,  come,”  broke  in  Mr.  Miller,  “you  don’t 
mean  to  say  I  have’nt  got  the  good  of  my  only 
child  as  much  at  heart  as  you  have,  do  you?  Why, 
that  girl  and  her  happiness  is  my  first  care  in  life.” 

“I  know,  you  think  you  are  doing  what  is  best, 
but  James,  don’t  you  see  you  have  spoiled  her  by 
always  letting  her  have  her  own  way  in  obtaining 
what  she  calls  happiness?  You  ought  to  realize 
that  Mabel  is  now  twenty  .years  old,  and  it  is  high 
time  she  thought  of  marriage  instead  of  such  fool¬ 
ish  trips  as  this  one.” 


7 


The  God  of  Civilization . 

“Oil,  nonsense,  she  has  plenty  of  time  yet;  and 
if  she  don’t  happen  to  get  married  I  guess  I’ve 
got  money  enough  to  keep  her  here  with  me  yet 
awhile;  hey,  Kate?” 

“I  might  almost  as  well  talk  to  the  girl  herself 
as  to  you.  Now,  why  can’t  she  settle  down  to  take 
an  interest  in  society,  as  Lucy  does?  In  a  few 
months  I  shall  see  Lucy  nicely  settled  in  an 
establishment  of  her  own;  and  if  Mr.  Howard 
is  a  little  wiki  now  he  will  settle  down  after  he 
and  Lucy  are  married  awhile,  and  I  had  hoped 
that  when  she  was  married  and  all  that,  I  should 
then  see  Mabel  as  well  suited.” 

UI  know,  Kate,  you  are  a  great  little  match¬ 
maker;  but  you  see  Mabel  don’t  want  to  find  a  hus¬ 
band  just  yet,  and  I  don’t  want  to  lose  her  yet 
awhile,  sister;  so  we  will  just  let  her  alone. ” 

Perhaps  Mrs,  Maynard  might  have  felt  inclined 
to  carry  the  argument  further,  but  at  this  moment 
the-  two  girls  returned,  and  with  them  Harry 
Howard,  the  young  man  to  whom  Lucy  was  be¬ 
trothed.  Of  course  the  subject  was  dropped,  and 
the  few  days  that  followed  before  Mabel’s  depar¬ 
ture  was  so  fully  occupied  with  the  arrangements 
for  her  trip  that  the  subject  was  not  again  referred 
to.  These  last  days  at  home  were  made  lively  by 
a  farewell  afternoon  tea  and  a  round  of  calls,  all 
of  which  Mrs.  Maynard  thought  necessary  for 
Mabel  to  make  before  her  departure,  although 
Mabel  tried  to  evade  making  them  by  putting  for¬ 
ward  the  plea  that  she  was  too  busy*  but  her  aunt 


/ 


8  The  God  of  Civilization. 

was  firm  in  her  purpose,  saying,  uMy  dear  Mabel, 
you  do  not  seem  to  realize  what  you  owe  to  society. 
You  must  make  these  calls  or  what  will  people  in 
our  set  say?’  ’ 

uOh,  auntie,  I  don’t  care  even  the  least  little  bit 
what  people  say .  I  don’t  care  for  the  people  in 
our  set,  which  means  three  or  four  hundred  people 
that  I  don’t  care  the  snap  of  my  finger  for,  any¬ 
way;  and  who  do  not  care  at  all  for  me.  Then, 
what  is  the  use  of  trying  all  the  time  to  keep  up 
with  society?  I  like  my  friends,  and  I  hope  I  have 
some  friends  who  like  me  really  in  return;  but  I 
don’t  care  for  society,  as  you  call  it,  at  all.” 

Mabel  and  her  aunt  were  not  all  likely  ever  to 
have  the  same  ideas  of  society,  as  Mrs .  Maynard 
was  one  of  those  women  who  all  her  life  had  lived 
for  society,  and  struggled  continually  to  be  a 
leader,  but  as  yet  her  ambition  was  ungratified, 
for,  though  she  was  a  prominent  figure  socially, 
she  was  by  no  means  a  leader ;  whereas,  Mabel, 
having  lost  her  mother  in  early  childhood,  had 
been  the  companion,  more  or  less,  of  her  father,  a 
man  kindhearted  and  thoroughly  good,  but  who 
regarded  social  duties  as  rather  a  bore,  and  conse¬ 
quently  Mabel  saw  the  world  through  his  eyes  and 
had  learned,  very  young,  the  bitter  lesson  of  disen¬ 
chantment  as  far  as  the  social  system  was  con¬ 
cerned.  It  was  all  a  sham  to  her,  and,  as  she 
was  eighteen  when  her  aunt  and  cousin  Lucy  came 
to  form  a  part  of  their  household,  the  ideas  of  the 
two  girls  was  very  different 


The  God  of  Civilisation. 


9 


t 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  day  on  which  the  bark  sailed  was  one  of 
those  clear,  bright  days  that  are  so  delightful  in 
San  Francisco,  when  the  brisk  breeze  blowing  in 
from  the  sea,  bringing  the  color  to  the  cheeks  and 
giving  one  an  indescribable  feeling  of  thankful¬ 
ness  for  the  mere  fact  of  being  alive. 

As  Mabel  stood  on  the  deck,  dressed  in  a  jaunty 
sailor  suit,  she  made  as  pretty  a  picture  as  one 
could  wish  to  see,  with  the  soft  curly  locks  of 
golden  hair  blown  out  from  under  a  snug  little  cap 
about  her  sweet  face,  and  among  the  large  party  of 
friends  who  had  come  down  to  see  the  vessel  off 
that  was  to  carry  Mabel  on  her  eventful  trip,  there 
was '  at  least  one  young  man,  if  not  more,  who 
thought  her  by  far,  the  handsomest  as  well  as  the 
brightest  girl  he  knew,  and  felt  that  he  would  like 
very  much  to  tell  her  so.  But  Mabel  had  a  pecu¬ 
liar  way  of  her  own  of  keeping  young  men  at  a 
friendly  distance,  and  the  young  man  who  looked 
at  her  with  such  a  longing  in  his  heart  had  not 
dared  to  speak  of  love  to  her,  fearing  to  meet  the 
fate  of  more  than  one  of  his  acquaintances,  for 
already  she  had  had  a  number  of  offers  of  mar¬ 
riage,  for  she  was  not  only  a  girl  of  wonderful 
beauty,  but  also  exceedingly  fascinating  and  enter- 


io  The  God  of  Civilization . 

taining.  She  had  every  accomplishment  that 
could  be  taught  a  woman  of  the  present  day. 
Then  another  fact  that  may  have  had  its  influence 
on  some  of  her  suitors  was  that  her  father  was 
what  is  commonly  called  a  rich  man  and  she  an 
only  child. 

At  last  all  was  ready  and  the  staunch  little  tug 
Relief,  after  much  fuss  and  bustle  and  blowing  of 
whistles,  had  made  fast  to  the  bark.  Mabel  threw 
herself  into  her  father’s  arms  for  a  last  good-bye. 
Now  she  stands  leaning  over  the  rail,  with  one 
hand  raised  to  shade  her  eyes  from  the  glare  of  the 
sun,  and  with  the  other  waved  farewell  to  those 
standing  on  the  wharf  watching  the  slow,  majestic 
progress  of  the  vessel  out  towards  the  blue  Pacific. 

Mabel  strained  her  eyes  for  a  last  glimpse  of  the 
form  of  her  father.  It  never  entered  her  mind 
that  this  is  the  last  time  she  may  ever  see  him,  but 
her  heart  is  as  gay  and  as  light  as  a  child’s  as  she 
joined  Mrs.  Gray  and  her  two  daughters  who  are 
talking  with  a  man  of  perhaps  thirty,  who  is 
dressed  in  the  pronounced  English  style. 

As  Mabel  had  already  met  Mr.  Allen  Thornton, 
who  was  a  fellow  passenger,  she  fell  quickly  into 
conversation  with  the  group.  Allen  Thornton  was 
saying  to  Mrs.  Gray,  “Well,  you  know  I  had  in¬ 
tended  to  take  the  steamer  for  Melbourne,  but 
reached  San  Francisco  a  day  too  late  for  the 
steamer,  and  as  I  should  have  to  wait  about  a 
month  for  the  next  one,  then  finding  that  your 
vessel  was  to  leave  in  a  day  or  so  with  a  pleasant 


II 


The  God  of  Civilization . 

little  party  on  board,  and  as  I  have  a  fondness  for 
pleasant  little  parties  rather  than  large  ones,  not 
so  agreeable,  here  I  am.  I  do  hope  yon  ladies  are 
going  to  be  awfully  nice  to  me  and  try  to  do  every¬ 
thing  in  your  power  to  make  the  trip  a  pleasant 
one  for  me.  ’  ’ 

At  which  the  three  girls  laughed  heartily,  and 
Etta,  the  younger  of  the  Gray  girls,  answered  him 
with,  “Oh,  we’ll  make  it  pleasant  for  you,  if  wait¬ 
ing  on  us  can  make  it  so.  I  was  just  saying  how 
nice  it  was  to  have  a  young  man  along  to  wait  up¬ 
on  us  all  the  time  as  you  won’t  have  another  thing 
in  the  world  to  do,  and  we  shall  have  to  keep  you 
busy.” 

‘  (Oh,  this  is  something  simply  fearful.  I  thought, 
being  the  only  man  in  this  little  party  of  idlers, 
you  would  vie  with  each  other  in  your  efforts  to 
amuse  me;  but  alas,  instead  of  that,  you  intend  to 
use  the  advantage  of  your  superior*  number  to 
reduce  me  to  the  level  of  a  slave.  ’  ’ 

“Don’t  you  wish  you  were  safe  on  shore  again,?” 
laughed  Etta. 

“I  do  not  dare  to  say  I  wish  it  or  you  may  per¬ 
haps  throw  me  overboard  and  tell  me  to  strike  out 
for  the  shore.  No,  I  will  try  to  bear  your  tyranny,  ’  ’ 
saying  which  he  settled  himself  comfortably  in  a 
big  bamboo  chair,  and  after  asking  of  the  ladies 
permission  to  smoke  and  being  granted  his  request, 
lie  lit  his  pipe.  He  certainly  looked  as  if  he  were 
going  to  make  the  best  of  his  lot 


12 


The  God  of  Civilisation . 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  days  passed  more  rapidly  than  Mabel  had 
any  idea  they  would,  and  a  delightful  time  they 
had,  too.  Reading,  card  playing,  and  an  occa¬ 
sional  old-fashioned  candy  making  enlivened  the 
time.  They  really  did  not  heed  the  passage  of  time 
as  the  vessel,  day  after  day,  brought  them  farther 
into  that  realm  of  delight — the  tropics.  All  day 
long  they  lie  lazily  on  deck  under  an  awning  that 
had  been  put  up  to  protect  them  from  the  fervid 
rays  of  the  glorious  king  of  day,  and  drink  in  the 
fresh  sea  air  so  warm,  yet  so  refreshing,  so  de¬ 
licious. 

The  party  had  become  so  imbued  with  truly 
tropical  indolence,  that  now,  even  reading  was  aban¬ 
doned  by  them.  They  were  having  a  desultory 
conversation  one  afternoon  when  it  occurred  to 
them  that  a  pleasant  diversion  would  be  to  relate 
any  strange  events  that  had  ever  happened  to  any 
of  them,  and  then  weave  the  whole  into  one 
romance,  drawing  on  their  imaginations,  of  course, 
to  make  the  final  story  more  thrilling. 

“Now,”  cried  Mabel,  “Mr.  Thornton,  as  you 
were  the  one  to  propose  the  scheme,  you  must  be 
the  first  to  tell  of  the  events  in  your  life  that  are 
worthy  to  be  written  in  our  crazy-patcli  story, 


*3 


The  God  of  Civilisation . 

which,  I  am  sure,  will  astonish  the  whole  world 
when  we  allow  it  to  read  our  wonderful 
productions.  ’  ’ 

“All  right,  Miss  Miller;  but  as  you  are  the  one 
to  propose  giving  our  story  the  honor  of  being 
written  I  move  that  you  be  the  one  to  write  down 
all  the  events  that  have,  in  the  past,  happened  to 
our  party,”  Mr.  Thornton  answered  with  a  laugh, 
as  Mabel  made  a  wry  face  at  being  picked  out  as 
the  one  to  do  the  only  physical  labor  connected 
with  the  plan. 

‘‘Wait  until  I  run  down  and  get  a  blank  book 
which  I  have  in  my  cabin,  and  we  shall  be  under 
full  sail,”  saying  which  Mr.  Thornton  disappeared 
down  the  companion  way,^  returning  with  blank 
book  and  pencil.  “Now,  Miss  Mabel,  to  work.” 

“But,”  said  she,  “how  can  I  write  anything 
until  you  have  told  me  what  to  write . 5  ’ 

“By  Jove,  I  forgot  you  were  waiting  for  me  to 
begin.  Let  me  see,  to  begin  with  I  was  born  at  a 
very  early  age,  and ’  ’ 

“Now  stop,  Mr.  Thornton,  we  won’t  allow  any 
such  old  joke  as  that  to  go  with  our  romance,” 
cried  Etta. 

“Very  well,  then;  I  was  born  at  Brighton,  Eng¬ 
land.  Now,  really,  girls,  I  don’t  see  where  I’m 
going  to  find  the  romance  or  strange  events  in 
my  life.  I’m  in  despair.” 

“That  isn’t  fair,  Mr.  Thornton,”  said  Mabel, 
“you’ve  got  to  go  on  now.  I  warrant  you  have  a 
romance  you  don’ t  want  us  to  know  anything  about.  ’  ’ 


14  The  God  of  Civilization. 

“Well,  here  goes  then.  I  was  born  at  Brighton, 
England,  and  lived  there  the  first  fifteen  years  of 
my  life.  When  I  was  about  a  year  old  my  father, 
who  was  a  sea  captain,  left  home  in  his  ship  for 
the  very  port  which  we  are  bound  for,  but  which 
he  never  reached,  as  his  vessel  was  lost  with  all  on 
board  and  was  never  heard  from.  I  lived  with  my 
widowed  mother  until  I  was  fifteen,  at  which 
time  she  died,  leaving  me  alone  in  the  world,  as  I 
had  no  brother  or  sister  and  but  one  relative,  an 
uncle,  who,  at  about  the  time  I  was  born,  had  gone 
to  Australia,  where  he  had  large  interests  in  some 
of  the  gold  mines  in  that  region.  After  my  uncle 
learned  of  my  mother’s  death  he  sent  me  to  school 
and  college,  in  the  meantime  putting  a  liberal 
amount  of  money  at  my  disposal,  and  when  I  left 
college  I  had  a  letter  from  him  saying  that  he  now 
wished  me  to  come  out  to  Australia  and  live  with 
him,  to  take  an  interest  in  his  large  business;  in 
fact  to  occupy  the  place  of  a  son  to  him,  as  he  was 
childless.  Now  you  would  think  of  course  I  did 
as  he  wished,  but  I  did  not,  and  why?  All  because 
a  pretty  little  girl,  with  rosy  cheeks  and  roguish, 
laughing  eyes,  had  too  strong  an  attraction  for  me; 
but  I  should  have  known  that  those  laughing  eyes 
could  have  looked  as  lovingly  at  other  admirers  as 
myself.  But  I  trusted  my  little  darling,  even  when 
with  her  arms  around  my  neck  she  told  me  that 
‘papa  must  not  know  of  our  engagement  just  yet.’ 
What  difference  did  it  make  to  me  so  long  as  I 
knew  she  loved  me,  even  if  she  did  dance  half  the 


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GIVE  SOURCE  OF  INFORMATION  ABOUT  THIS 
BOOK  ON  BACK  OF  CARD. 


The  God  of  Civilisation.  15 

night  and  idle  away  half  the  day  with  that  young 
idiot  Grayson,  whose  father  is  worth  his  millions . 
I  knew  that  she  loved  me,  but  one  day  1  awoke 
from  my  dream.  What  was  this  I  held  in  my 
hand — a  card  to  a  wedding?  Was  I  going  mad  or 
had  my  eyes  played  me  false?  No,  my  God,  no; 
it  was  there  printed  011  the  card  I  held  in  my  hand 
— ‘Helen  Jessup  to  Herbert  Grayson.’  Yes, 
it  was  my  darling’s  name.  I  dropped  my  head  on 
my  hands  and  gave  wny  to  my  agony.  But  finally 
recovering  myself  I  resolved  to  go  to  Helen  and 
ask  her  what  it  meant;  so  dashing  out  of  the  house 
I  was  soon  in  a  cab  going  rapidly  toward  her  fath¬ 
er’s  house.  I  hardly  gave  the  cab  time  to  stop 
before  I  sprang  out  and  rushed  up  the  steps  and 
rang  at  the  door.  I  asked  for  Helen.  The  servant 
hesitated  a  moment  and  then  said,  ‘Miss  Jessup  is 
at  home,  but  I  do  not  know  whether  she  will  see 
anyone  or  not.  I  will  ask,  if  you  will  step  into  the 
parlor,  sir.’  I  went  in,  my  head  in  a  whirl.  I 
was  hardly  seated  when  Helen  rushed  in — a  vision 
of  loveliness  in  white — and  actually  threw  herself 
in  my  arms,  exclaiming,  ‘You  darling  Allen;  I 
know  what  you  are  going  to  say,  but  don't  say  it, 
dearest,  for  my  heart  is  broken,  too.  ’ 

“  ‘What  do  you  mean,’  I  cried,  ‘your  heart  bro¬ 
ken?  Who  has  broken  it,  may  I  ask?’ 

“  ‘Allen  dear,  don’t  look  at  me  that  way;  I  can¬ 
not  endure  it.  You  look  as  if  you  blamed  me  for 
what  has  happened.  ’ 

u  ‘And  who,  pray,  is  to  blame?’  I  found  breath 


1 6  The  God  of  Civilization. 

to  ask.  At  which  she  melted  into  tears  and  cried, 
‘You  don’t  love  me  any  more.’ 

“I  was  almost  dumb  with  astonishment.  ‘You 
don’t  expect  me  to  love  you  when  you  are  going 
to  marry  another  man,  do  you,?’  I  gasped. 

“  ‘Don’t  you  see  how  it  is;  I  love  you  and 
always  shall  love  you.  Really,  I  could  not  marry 
you  after  papa  found  that  your  income  from  your 
mother’s  estate  was  only  four  hundred  pounds  a 
year.  Now,  dearest,  you  know  I  could  not  dress 
decently  on  that.  No,  I  had  to  marry  Herbert, 
but  I  do  not  love  him  and  never  shall.’ 

“  ‘Why,  Helen,?  I  cried,  ‘why  did  you  not  say 
it  was  money,  not  love,  that  you  wanted,  and  I 
could  have  told  you  I  have  an  allowance  of  five 
thousand  pounds  a  year  from  my  uncle,  who  is 
one  of  the  wealthiest  men  in  Australia.’ 

“  ‘Why  didn’t  you  tell  me  that  before;  it  would 
have  made  all  the  difference  in  the  world.  I  don’t 
see  what  I  can  do  now,  unless  I  get  up  an  awful 
quarrel  with  Herbert,  and  I  will  do  that  if  I  can.  ’ 

“I  was  .shocked  beyond  all  expression.  This 
grasping,  money-loving  woman,  who  did  not  hesi¬ 
tate  to  say  that  she  loved  one  man,  when  she  was 
on  the  eve  of  marrying  another.  Could  it  be  my 
Helen,  whom  I  had  thought  the  soul  of  innocence 
and  goodness,  all  girlish  love  and  yielding  tender¬ 
ness? 

“I  turned  from  her  with  a  feeling  that  was 
almost  loathing.  I  could  not  answer  one  word, 
but  took  my  hat  and  left  her  presence  forever. 


*7 


The  God  of  Civilisation . 

"The  next  day  found  me  with  a  ticket  for  New 
York  in  my  pocket,  and  a  determination  to  spend  the 
rest  of  my  life  with  my  uncle,  and,  in  a  new  country 
begin  a  new  life.  Such,  young  ladies,  is  my  story 
so  far;  what  will  happen  hereafter  is  a  sealed  book, 
as  yet.  Now,  Miss  Etta,  give  us  your  story  next.” 

Scarcely  had  Allen  Thornton  uttered  these  words,, 
when  they  were  suddenly  aroused  by  the  sharp  ring¬ 
ing  of  the  ship’s  bell,  and,  at  the  same  moment 
Mrs.  Gray  appeared  on  the  deck,  her  face  white  and 
her  whole  manner  one  of  alarm.  The  young 
people  sprang  to  their  feet  and  ran  toward  her, 
crying  out  “what  is  it,”?  “what  has  happened”?, 
“what  is  the  matter,?”  all  talking  at  once  in 
breathless  excitement,  presenting  a  strange  contrast 
to  the  picture  they  had  formed  a  moment  before,  of 
perfect  comfort  and  contentment . 

Mrs.  Gray  did  not  speak,  but  dropped  into  a  chair 
as  if  utterly  helpless . 

4  What  is  it,  ’  ’  again  cried  Etta . 

Mrs.  Gray  raised  her  head  and  uttered  that  one 
word,  so  terrible  to  hear  at  sea:  “Fire!  !” 

“O,  mamma,  is  the  ship  on  fire?” 

By  this  time  Mrs.  Gray  had  recovered  her  com¬ 
posure,  and,  answered,  4  ‘yes,  on  fire.  Do  what  you 
can  quickly  to  save  what  valuables  you  have.  Your 
father  says  there  is  considerable  powder  in  the 
vessel,  and,  that  we  shall  probably  have  to  take  to 
the  boats  to  save  our  lives.  ’  ’ 

Indeed,  already  while  they  had  been  speaking, 
the  men  had  been  busy  supplying  the  life  boats 


1 8  The  God  of  Civilization. 

with  barrels  of  sea  biscuit,  and  salt  beef,  and  casks 
of  fresh  water  and  other  nescessities  ;  and  the  scene 
which  had  so  lately  been  one  of  placid  enjoyment, 
had,  in  a  moment  been  turned  into  the  wildest  con¬ 
fusion.  Sailors  running  here  and  there,  officers 
shouting  out  orders,  and  above  it  all,  the  smoke 
arising  in  dense  clouds.  The  life  boats  were  soon 
ready  for  their  precious  human  frieght.  Into  one 
boat  Mrs.  Gray,  Allen  Thornton,  the  three  girls,  the 
captain  and  four  sailors  went,  the  rest  of  the  crew 
taking  another  boat.  The  men  set  the  sails  on  the 
captain’s  boat,  and,  as  there  was  a  brisk  breeze 
blowing,  together  with  the  fact  that  the  men  bent 
manfully  to  the  oars,  they  were  soon  a  safe  distance 
from  the  burning  ship,  and  looking  back  could  see 
the  flames  bursting  out  all  over  her. 

All  at  once  there  was  a  frightful  noise,  and  as 
they  looked,  they  saw  the  vessel  torn  asunder,  por¬ 
tions  of  her  being  thrown  high  in  the  air.  It  was 
as  if  she  had  lifted  herself  out  of  her  watery  bed  in 
one  wild  leap  of  joy,  at  no  longer  being  under  the 
control  of  human  hands,  but  left  to  the  mad  caprice, 
of  the  wild  elements — fire  and  water .  As  a  portion 
of  the  smoke  cleared  away  the  now  shipwrecked 
watchers  could  see  that  she  has  been  completely 
shattered  by  the  terrible  explosion,  and,  that  what 
had  been  so  lately  a  noble  vessel,  breasting  the 
waves  with  majestic  calm,  was  now  gone  from  the 
face  of  the  waters;  no  more  should  she  sail  away 
with  her  sails  bellying  in  the  breeze,  her  flag  and 
pennon  floating  gaily  at  her  mastheads;  no  more 


The  God  of  Civilization .  19 

should  loving  eyes  gaze  out  over  the  harbor  bar 
with  longing  anxiety  for  her  coming,  bringing 
loved  ones  home.  No,  she  had  gone,  gone  forever. 

The  day  passed  slowly  enough  to  our  friends. 
All  through  the  afternoon  they  kept  in  sight  of  the 
other  boat  load  of  fellow  sufferers.  As  the  day  ad¬ 
vanced,  the  breeze,  which  had  been  blowing  all 
day,  was  a  strong  gale  by  the  time  night  had  fallen, 
with  that  suddenness,  which  seems,  in  a  moment, 
to  envelop  the  sea  and  earth  as  with  a  dark  shroud 
dropped  by  mysterious  hand  from  heaven. 

There  is  in  the  tropics  no  gentle  approach  of 
night,  no  soft  shades  of  twilight,  that  time  when 
all  heaven  and  earth  is  hushed  in  dreamy,  restful 
quiet;  that  time  between  the  busy,  gay  and  gar¬ 
ish  day  and  the  dark,  gruesome  night.  The 
darkness  seemed  to  increase  the  uneasiness  of  all 
on  board  the  little  craft  as  they  were  afraid  the 
high  winds  might  drive  them  against  some  of  the 
large  pieces  of  wreckage  which,  before  nightfall  they 
had  seen  not  far  from  them  ;  and  if  such  an  acci¬ 
dent  happened  to  them  there  would  be  little 
chance  of  their  escaping  a  most  horrible  death. 
But  their  fears  from  that  source  were  fortunately 
not  realized. 

At  last  morning  dawned,  but  bringing  no  abate¬ 
ment  of  the  storm  ;  in  fact,  the  southerly  gale  had 
increased  to  almost  a  hurricane  in  violence. 

All  day  long  the  wind  and  sea  raged,  the  seas 
breaking  over  the  frail  craft  time  and  again.  Not 
a  mouthful  of  food  was  taken  by  any  of  the 


20 


The  God  of  Civilization . 

wretched  party,  as  they  did  not  dare  to  relax  their 
hold  on  the  boat  to  which  they  clung  in  the  agony  of 
despair.  After  hours  of  this  horrible  battling  with 
the  sea,  Mrs.  Gray  feebly  called  out,  “I  can  keep 
my  hold  no  longer.  My  strength  is  almost  gone. 
Good-bye  my  loved  ones.” 

Captain  Gray  made  an  effort  to  reach  her  but  he 
had  been  thrown  from  his  feet  to  the  bottom  of  the 
boat  a  moment  before,  and  his  leg  was  now  held  by 
a  cask  that  had  fallen  on  him,  and  before  any  one 
could  reach  Mrs.  Gray,  another  sea  had  swept  the 
unfortunate  boat,  and,  tearing  her  from  her  feeble 
hold  had  carried  her  far  beyond  the  reach  of  assist¬ 
ance.  The  storm  continued  but  a  short  time 
longer  to  vent  its  fury  on  the  ill-fated  occupants  of 
the  life  boat,  and  shortly  after  Mrs.  Gray  was  swept 
away  it  passed  on  to  the  north  in  search  of  new 
victims  ;  but  left  behind  it  a  long  angry  swell, 
the  vast  bosom  of  the  deep,  heaving  and  swelling. 

The  grey  and  sullen  skies,  from  which  the  rain 
now  came  in  a  soft  shower,  like  a  child  denied 
some  wished  for  toy,  who  cries  and  stamps  its  foot 
in  rage,  then  finally  sobs  itself  to  sleep.  All 
through  the  night  the  swells  continued,  but  by 
morning  had  almost  disappeared  and  the  sun  shown 
from  a  clear  sky,  with  a  genial  warmth. 

By  noon,  the  clothes  of  the  drenched  party  were 
dry  and  they  had  set  to  work  to  find  what  was  left 
to  them,  after  the  storm,  of  their  supply  of  pro¬ 
visions.  They  found  the  barrel  of  beef  all  right, 
the  sea  biscuit  a  little  water-soaked,  and  set  to 


21 


The  God  of  Civilization. 

work  spreading  the  biscuit  in  the  sun  to  dry.  The 
barrels  had  all  been  firmly  lashed  to  the  boat  so 
they  had  stood  the  stress  of  the  storm  with  but  lit¬ 
tle  damage,  but,  to  their  horror,  they  found  when 
they  came  to  examine  the  water  cask  that  was  also 
lashed  to  the  boat,  that  during  the  storm  its  side 
had  been  stove  in,  letting  almost  all  the  water  es¬ 
cape,  so  that  now  there  remained  but  a  few  pints 
of  the  precious  liquid  in  the  bottom  of  the  cask. 
It  was  realized  by  all  that  the  danger  they  now 
had  most  to  fear  was  lack  of  water.  After  having 
eaten  heartily  of  the  sea  biscuit  and  beef,  that  to 
satisfy  their  immediate  thirst,  would  take  all  the 
water  remaining,  but  they  contented  themselves 
with  a  mere  sip,  just  enough  to  moisten  their 
parched  lips. 

Carrie  Gray,  who  had  always  been  a  delicate 
girl,  was  completely  prostrated  by  the  terror  and 
hardships  which  she  had  undergone  the  past  few 
days,  and  the  loss  of  her  mother  preyed  upon  her 
mind  so  constantly,  that  by  the  evening  of  the  third 
day  she  was  raging  with  fever,  and  her  father  and 
sister  denied  themselves  of  their  share  of  water, 
only  dampening  their  lips  and  tongues  with  a  few 
drops,  so  that  Carrie  might  have  all  to  relieve  her 
sufferings  as  much  as  possible. 


22 


The  God  of  Civilization, 


CHAPTER  V. 

“Captain  Gray,  have  you  any  idea  wnere  we 
are?”  asked  Allen  Thornton,  on  the  afternoon  of 
the  third  day. 

It  was  not  the  first  time  that  the  query  had  been 
on  the  lips  of  more  than  one  of  the  unfortunates, 
but  each  time  they  had  dreaded  to  ask  the  ques¬ 
tion,  as  they  feared  the  answer. 

‘  ‘  I  can  not  say  exactly,  of  course,  ’  ’  answered 
Captain  Gray,  Ubut  as  the  wind  that  has  been 
treating  us  so  unmercifully,  was  from  the  southeast 
we  have  been  keeping,  apparently,  a  course,  more 
or  less,  to  the  northwest,  and  I  should  say  we  are 
considerably  northwest  of  our  position  when  we 
left  the  ship.” 

u  Do  we  stand  much  chance  of  being  picked  up 
by  some  passing  ship,  Captain  ?  ”  asked  Mabel. 

“No,  I’m  afraid  we  do  not,”  answered  the  cap¬ 
tain,  “as  we  are  rather  out  of  the  line  of  ship 
travel.  You  see,  the  winds  had  been  quite  light  for 
several  days  before  we  abandoned  the  vessel,  and 
what  headway  we  made  was  entirely  to  the  west¬ 
ward,  so  that  we  were  considerably  farther  west 
than  the  usual  course  of  vessels.” 

“Then  we  may  as  well  make  up  our  minds  to 
die  first  as  last,  is  that  the  way  of  it,  Captain?” 
asked  Allen . 


^3 


The  God  of  Civilization . 

u  No,  we  will  not  give  up  yet  by  any  means. 
Do  you  remember,  Etta,  the  day  before  we  left 
the  ship,  when  I  was  marking  our  position  on  the 
chart,  you  asked  me  what  ail  those  little  black 
dots,  extending  in  a  curved  line  almost  ahead  of 
us,  were?” 

“Yes,  papa,  I  do  indeed,  and  you  said  they  were 
little  islands,  or  reefs  that  had  been  sighted  from 
time  to  time  by  some  vessel.” 

“Well,  there  lies  our  chance  for  safety,”  said 
the  captain.  u  We  are  now  considerably  nearer 
them,  I  should  judge,  and  we  may  be  able  to  make 
one  of  those  islands.  ’  ’ 

u  How  long  will  it  take  us  to  reach  the  islands, 
do  you  suppose?  ’ l  asked  Mabel. 

“  Well,  I  can’t  say  that  we. will  ever  reach  them, 
my  dear  Mabel,  I  can  only  hope  so  ;  but  even  if 
we  do,  we  may  be  no  better  off,  as  some  of  them 
are  simply  coral  reefs,  others  barren  and  desolate, 
being  of  recent  volcanic  origin,  while  still  others  are 
inhabited  by  the  fiercest  tribes  of  cannibals.  They 
are,  for  the  most  part,  unexplored,  as  they  are  in 
latitudes  where  storms  from  the  south,  such  as  we 
have  passed  through,  are  of  frequent  occurence, 
and  the  quantity  of  reefs  make  the  approach  to 
them  a  matter  of  great  peril.” 

“  Well,  Mabel,  we  will  keep  .up  stout  hearts  and 
hope  for  the  best,  won’t  we  ?  ”  said  Allen. 

Etta  had  sat  listening  to  all  her  father  had  said, 
saying  but  little  until  now,  but  as  Carrie,  whose 
head  was  resting  in  Etta’s  lap,  moved  restlessly 


24  The  God  of  Civilization . 

and  moaned,  u  Water,  give  me  some  water.” 

It  seemed  that  Etta  could  stand  it  no  longer  and 
she  cried,  44  Oh,  papa,  we  must  get  there  right 
away.  Can’t  something  be  done  to  help  us  on? 
Carrie  can  not  endure  this  horrible  heat  much 
longer,  without  shelter,  and  the  water  is  all  gone.” 

4  4  All  gone  ?  ’  ’  the  words  seemed  to  be  fairly 
shrieked  by  the  horrified  group,  for  they  knew  that 
under  this  burning  sky  they  could  none  of  them 
exist  long  without  water. 

Her  father  was  the  first  to  ask  where  the  supply 
had  gone,  that  an  honr  before  he  had  thought  suf¬ 
ficient,  at  the  rate  they  were  using  it,  for  at  least 
two  days,  and  now  it  was  all  gone.  4  4  Who  used 
it,”  Captain  Gray  asked  sternly  ?  ” 

44I  did,”  said  Etta,  44  don’t  blame  me,  papa,  I 
could  not  help  it,  I  have  given  it  to  Carrie.  I 
could  not  endure  it  any  longer  to  see  her  suffering 
so.  I  had  to  give  it  to  her.” 

Captain  Gray  bowed  his  head  in  his  hands  for  a 
moment,  then  taking  Etta’s  hand  in  his,  asked  in 
a  broken  voice,  44Do  you  know  what  you  have  done 
my  child?  You  have  doomed  us  all  to  a  horrible 
death.”  * 

4 ‘Don’t  papa,  don’t.  I  could  not  bear  to  see 
her  die,  calling  for  water  when  there  was  still  a 
little  that  she  might  have.  ’  ’ 

4  4But  what  can  we  do  for  her  now,  the  water  is 
all  gone,  and  her  fever  higher  than  ever.  My  God! 
Must  I  see  my  loved  ones  die,  and  be  powerless  to 
help  them.  My  wife  torn  from  me  by  the  relent- 


The  God  of  Civilization . 


25 


less  waves,  and  now,  my  darling  daughter  dying 
before  my  eyes.  Would  to  God  I  could  die ;  but, 
to  live  on  bereft  of  those  dearest  to  me,  I  shudder 
at  the  thought.  ” 

’  The  morning  of  the  fourth  day  broke,  hot,  oh,  so 
hot .  The  air  wras  like  a  breath  from  a  furnace, 
scorching,  and  parching  the  occupants  of  the  boat. 
Carrie  was  raving  wildly,  and  calling  constantly 
for  water,  but  not  even  a  drop  was  to  be  had .  Her 
agonized  father,  and  sister  could  do  nothing  for  her, 
and  death  came  to  release  her  from  her  horrible 
sufferings  about  one  o’clock,  as  near  as  they  could 
judge,  as  the  watches  of  both  the  captain  and  Allen 
had  stopped  during  the  storm  and  they  had  set  them 
by  guess. 

Knowing  that  they  could  not  keep  the  body  of 
Carrie  any  length  of  time,  and  fully  realizing  the 
fact  that  they  were  all  fast  losing  strength,  Allen 
Thornton,  assisted  by  two  of  the  sailors,  committed 
1:he  remains  to  the  sea.  It  was  horrible  to  think  of 
doing  so,  as  sharks  had  been  following  the  boat  for 
some  time  past,  and,  here  and  there  the  shining; 
dorsal  fin  of  a  sluggish,  slow  moving  monster  of  the 
deep  could  be  seen  glistening  in  the  sunlight.. 
Etta  was  spared  the  torture  of  .seeing  her  loved- 
sister’s  body  given  up  to  such  a  fate,  owing  to  the 
fact  that  she  was  utterly  unconscious  of  all  that 
passed,  and  sat  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat  with  a 
vacant  stare  in  her  eyes.  Both  she  and  Mabel  had 
now  almost  succumbed  to  the  heat,  and  their  terrible 
thirst.  One  of  the  sailors  was  raving  wildly  and 


26 


The  God  of  Civilization . 

throwing  liis  arms  above  his  head  with  heart-rend¬ 
ing  shrieks,  as  the  body  of  Carrie  struck  the  water 
with  a  slight  splash,  the  sound  seemed  to  madden 
him  still  more,  for  he  gave  one  wild  cry  and  threw 
himself  over  the  side  of  the  boat. 

The  sky  ivhich  had  been  so  clear  at  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  the  day,  had  gradually  become  overcast 
with  clouds.  At  about  three  o’clock  a  few  drops  of 
rain  fell  with  a  soft  plash  into  the  boat.  It  soon 
increased  to  a  hard  shower.  Captain  Gray,  Allen 
and  the  sailors  quickly  unlashed  the  barrel  contain¬ 
ing  the  sea  biscuit,  which  they  emptied  into  the 
bottom  of  the  boat  and  set  the  barrel  to  catch  the 
rain.  They  soon  had  caught  enough  to  give  each 
of  the  girls  a  refreshing  draught,  moistening  their 
own  parched  throats  as  well.  The  rain  continued  to 
fall  for  some  time,  enabling  them  to  catch  several 
quarts  of  water. 

For  three  days  more  they  drifted  on,  with  no 
signs  of  land,  or  even  a  friendly  sail  in  sight,  but 
about  noon  of  the  eighth  day  one  of  the  sailors  cried: 
“Fand!  Fand!”  “Captain,  isn’t  that  land  ahead?” 

“I  have  seen  that  line  against  the  sky  for  some 
time,”  answered  Captain  Gray,  “and  I  think  you 
are  right  in  saying  it  is  land,  yet  it  may  be  only  a 
coral  reef. 

What  remnant  of  sail  they  had  left  was  soon  put 
up,  and  fortunately  what  breeze  there  was,  was 
setting  directly  toward  the  island,  if  island  it  really 
was. 

‘  ‘Can’ t  we  do  something  to  make  sure  of  reaching 


The  God  of  Civilization. .  27 

it,  papa,  if  it  is  land  ?’  ’  asked  Etta,  who  had  now 
entirely  revived , 

“No  my  child,  we  must  trust  to  luck  to  take  us 
there.  We  are  almost  helpless.  But  there  seems 
to  be  a  current  setting  in  towards  shore,  which,  if 
nothing,  such  as  adverse  winds,  happens  to  change 
our  course,  I  think  that  sometime  to-morrow  we 
shall  reach  the  island  or  reef,  whichever  it  is.” 

‘  ‘Are  we  not  in  danger  of  running  on  some  hidden 
reef?”  said  Allen. 

uYes,  we  do  run  some  risk  of  that,  but  we  must 
do  the  best  we  can.” 

As  night  came  on,  the  weary  wanderers  over  the 
face  of  the  waters,  composed  themselves  to  rest  with 
a  feeling  of  almost  security,  so  nearly  ended  seemed 
their  trials  of  the  past  week.  The  three  sailors, 
Allen  and  the  captain  went  on  watch  by  turns 
throughout  the  night.  By  the  early  morning  light 
how  anxiously  all  the  party  scanned  the  shore, 
which  could  now  be  seen  quite  plainly.  The  waves 
gently  lifted  the  boat  and  each  moment  seemed  to 
carry  it  onward,  in  a  manner  that  was  meant  to  com¬ 
pensate  for  the  roughness  with  which  the  waves  had 
handled  the  staunch  little  craft  a  few  days  before . 

“I  think,”  said  Captain  Gray,  “that  we  are  in¬ 
side  of  a  large  reef  and  that  fact  accounts  for  the 
calmness  of  the  sea.  ’  ’ 

“We  are  lucky  that  the  wind  keeps  favorable,” 
said  Allen.  “What  in  the  world  should  we  do  if 
the  wind  should  go  down?” 

“Well,  Allen,”  answered  Mabel,  “we  must  trust 


28 


The  God  of  Civilization . 

in  providence.  God  has  so  far  brought  us  out  of 
our  perils,  and  we  should  not  now,  doubt  His  good¬ 
ness,  or  power  to  protect  us.  ’  ’ 

“I  know  Mabel,  yet  I  cannot  help  feeling  as  if, 
were  we  again  to  be  driven  out  to  sea,  it  would  be 
harder  to  bear  than  our  trials  of  the  last  week 
have  been.  ’  ’ 

“But  vSee,  Allen, ”  broke  in  Etta,  “we  can  actu¬ 
ally  see  the  shore  and  what  is  on  it.” 

“You  mean,  what  is  not  on  it,  dont  you?”  said 
Allen.  “I  don’t  see  anything  but  a  mass  of  reddish 
brown  rock.” 

“I  must  say  it  is  not  a  very  promising  looking 
shore”  answered  Etta,  “but  I  shall  be  thankful  to 
reach  it,  no  matter  what  there  is  on  it.  I  have 
such  a  horror  of  this  boat,  from  which  my  mother 
and  sister  have  been  snatched  by  death.” 

Nearer,  and  nearer  they  came  to  the  shore.  At 
last  a  grating  sound  under  the  keel,  was  heard. 
They  had  gone  as  far  as  possible .  One  of  the  sailors 
sprang  out,  and  found  the  water  quite  shallow,  and 
waded  ashore.  He  soon  came  back,  and,  with 
the  help  of  the  other  sailors,  carried  ashore  what 
was  left  of  the  provisions.  Going  on  shore  a  second 
time  they  found  that  if  they  could  move  the  boat 
from  its  present  position,  they  might  get  it  into 
deeper  water,  and  by  pushing  it  along  with  a  pole 
bring  them  a  sort  of  little  cove . 

“But  where  are  we  to  get  the  poles  from?”  asked 
Allen. 


The  God  of  Civilisation .  29 

uWe  will  take  the  remains  of  the  mast  That 
will  do,  ’  ’  said  Captain  Gray. 

Suiting  the  action  to  the  word,  and  getting  the 
*boat  free  once  more,  they  began  to  push  her  slowly 
up  the  little  inlet.  At  last  she  was  snugly  along¬ 
side  the  shore,  and  once  more  all  the  party  felt  the 
firm  earth  under  their  feet.  A  feeling  of  thankful¬ 
ness  filled  every  heart. 


30 


The  God  of  Civilization . 


CHAPTER  VI. 

They  were  all  very  hungry,  as  they  had  been  too 
intently  watching  their  approach  to  the  island  to 
think  of  eating  anything  since  the  morning,  and  it 
was  now  almost  sunset.  Going  over  to  the  place 
where  the  sailors  had  first  landed,  where  the  beef 
and  biscuit  had  been  deposited,  they  prepared  to  eat 
their  supper.  They  were  all  heartily  tired  of  salt 
beef  and  hard  tack,  but  the  country  appeared  to  be 
very  barren,  and  there  seemed  little  likelihood  of 
their  finding  much  in  the  way  of  food  on  it. 

44I  think,”  said  Captain  Gray,  44that  this  is  one 
of  the  volcanic  islands  I  spoke  of,  but  still  we  may 
have  landed  on  the  most  desolate  part  of  it.  To¬ 
morrow  we  will  explore  it  in  all  directions,  and  find 
out  just  what  our  position  is.” 

After  supper  they  prepared  for  their  first  night 
ashore,  and  yet  it  was  not  exactly  ashore,  either,  as 
the  boat  was  more  comfortable  as  a  sleeping  place, 
than  the  rocky  shore;  so  arranging  the  sail  in  the 
bottom  of  the  boat,  they  spent,  by  far,  the  most 
comfortable  night  since  the  burning  of  the  4  4  Western 
Shore.  ’ 5 

When  the  first  light  of  morning  made  its  appear¬ 
ance,  Allen  and  Harry  (one  of  the  sailors)  set  out  to 
see  if  they  could  find  water,  which  they  were  again 


fhe  God  of  Civilization .  31 

likely  to  suffer  for,  or  any  kind  of  food.  They 
followed  the  shore  line  until  they  had  rounded  a 
sharp  point  which  obscured  the  boat  from  their 
view.  As  they  rounded  this  point,  an  exclamation 
of  joy  burst  from  Allen’s  lips.  “See  Harry,”  cried 
he,  there  is  a  large  number  of  trees;  they  will 
probably  have  fruit  of  some  kind.” 

“Yes,  they  have  fruit,”  answeied  Harry,  Ubut 
I’m  afraid  we  can’t  reach  it.  They  are  cocoanut 
trees.  ’  ’ 

“Well,  what  if  they  are?  What’s  to  prevent 
our  getting  the  nuts;  they  would  be  a  fine  change 
in  our  diet,  and  the  milk,  too,  would  be  very 
acceptable.  ’  ’ 

“Yes,  that’s  true,  sure  enough,  but  we  can’t  get 
them.  Those  trees  are  from  fifty  to  seventy-five 
feet  high,  and  it  takes  a  fellow  that’s  used  to  climb¬ 
ing  them,  to  reach  the  nuts.  I  can  tell  you  that.” 

“Why,”  said  Allen,  “can’t  you  climb  one  of 
those  trees?  You  were  nimble  enough  when  you 
had  to  go  aloft  to  set  a  sail,  and  I  think  it  must  be 
quite  as  hard  to  climb  a  mast  as  a  tree.” 

“No  sir,  that’s  where  you’re  wrong.  When  a 
fellow’s  going  up  the  rigging,  don’t  you  see  he  has 
all  the  ropes  to  help  him,  but  to  climb  a  cocoanut 
tree  it’s  a  sight  different.  You’ve  got  nothing  to 
lay  hold  of,  and  have  got  to  trust  to  your  feet  and 
hands  having  a  good  grip  011  the  bark.” 

“I  think  you  could  do  it  if  you  tried,”  said 
Allen. 

“Well,  I  know  as  how  I  a^i’t  smart  enough  to  do 


32 


The  God  of  Civilisation . 

it,  for  I  have  tried  it  afore  now.  You  see  I’ve 
been  around  a  good  bit  in  the  South  Seas,  and 
there  aint  no  fellow  but  what’ll  try  his  hand  at 
climbing  a  cocoanut  tree  if  he  thinks  he  can  do 
it” 

By  this  time  they  wTere  in  the  midst  of  the  grace¬ 
ful,  tall  trees  which  held  their  plume-like  heads 
high  against  the  sky,  as  if  in  proud  defiance  of  all 
such  aspiring  mortals  as  should  wish  to  rob  them  of 
their  royal  crown  of  fruit.  But  now  that  they  had 
reached  the  cocoanut  grove,  they  found  that  there 
were  a  number  of  other  trees  of  much  lower 
growth  in  the  neighborhood.  On  going  up  to 
these  trees  they  found  them  to  have  very  broad 
leaves  that  spread  out  from  the  top  of  the 
trunk,  each  leaf  being  held  in  an  almost  horizon¬ 
tal  position  by  a  thick,  pulpy  stem,  from  three  to 
five  feet  in  length.  The  lower  round  of  leaves 
having  the  largest  stems,  and  each  row  being  some¬ 
what  shorter  than  the  one  beneath,  forming  a  most 
agreeable  shade,  as  its  shape  was  that  of  an  immense 
umbrella.  Clustered  closely  around  the  trunk,  and 
directly  under  the  leaves,  were  about  a  dozen  bright, 
orange-colored  fruits,  resembling  a  quince  some¬ 
what  in  shape,  only  larger.  Allen  was  the  first  to 
see  these,  and  called  to  Harry,  “What  are  those 
trees  ahead  of  us,  do  you  know?” 

“Yes,  they  are  papiea  trees,  and  the  fruit  is 
mighty  good  to  eat,  too.” 

They  were  not  long  in  gathering  a  number  of 
these,  and  also  some?  guavas,  which  they  found 


33 


The  God  of  Civilization . 

in  abundance.  Now,  as  it  was  getting  well  on  in 
the  morning,  and  they  were  beginning  to  feel  as  if 
breakfast  would  be  acceptable,  they  started  back 
to  the  boat.  They  were -rather  disappointed  at 
not  having  found  any  traces  of  fresh  water,  but 
hoped  that  the  captain  and  Ben,  who  had  gone  in 
the  opposite  direction,  had  been  more  fortunate, 
and  so  indeed  they  had.  Not  far  from  where  the 
boat  was  moored  they  came  upon  a  little  stream, 
whose  limpid  water  hurrying  over  its  rock -brown 
bed,  was  a  joyful  sight  to  the  searchers.  Passing 
a  little  beyond  the  shining  brooklet,  on  whose  bank 
they  stopped  a  moment,  both  the  captain  and 
Ben  taking  a  long  draught  of  the  sweet  water,  they 
came  upon  a  lovely  beach  covered  with  bits  of  cor¬ 
al,  shining  sands  and  bright  shells.  Ben,  running 
down  to  the  water’s  edge,  soon  turned  wnth  the  ex¬ 
clamation,  uIt’s  just  as  you  thought,  captain, 
when  you  said  there  should  be  plenty  of  crab,  if  we 
could  find  a  good  beach.  See,  here  is  a  fine  one,  I 
have  caught.  ’  ’  After  working  for  some  time  they 
managed  to  capture  eight  fine  crabs. 

“Now,”  said  the  captain,  “I  think  we  had 
better  go  back  to  camp  with  what  we  have,  and 
delay  our  expedition  until  after  breakfast.  It  will 
take  some  time  to  prepare  these,  even  if  Hans  and 
the  girls  have  managed  to  get  a  fire.  ’  ’ 

u  All  right,  just  as  you  say,  captain,”  came  the 
answer,  but  if  you  will  wait  just  a  few  minutes  I 
will  get  some  of  that  seaweed  we  have  seen  cling¬ 
ing  to  the  rocks.  It  makes  first-rate  eating.” 


34 


The  God  of  Civilization. 

u  What,  that  black,  slippery  looking  stuff?” 
asked  the  captain. 

u  Yes,  sir.  The  natives  of  several  islands  down 
in  these  parts  eat  it,  and  1  have  tasted  it  and  it’s 
first  rate.  ’  ’ 

u  That’s  so,”  said  Captain  Gray,  unow  I  come 
to  think  of  it,  I  have  seen  the  natives  of  the 
Hawaiian  Islands,  and  Samoa,  eat  it.  ’  ’ 

vSo,  gathering  a  quantity  of  the  sea  kale,  they 
also  started  back  for  the  boat. 

In  the  meantime  the  girls  and  Hans  had  not 
been  idle.  They  had  searched  in  all  directions  for 
material*  to  build  a  fire.  They  succeeded  in  find¬ 
ing  a  number  of  pieces  of  driftwood,  which,  during 
some  storm  had  been  cast  high  and  dry  on  this 
rocky  point.  The  captain  had  been  fortunate  enough 
to  have  kept  some  matches  perfectly  dry,  as  his  lit¬ 
tle  gold  match-box,  which  he  carried  in  an  inner 
pocket,  shut  so  tightly  that  not  a  drop  of  water  had 
reached  the  now  much  needed  and  precious 
matches.  The  girls  had  arranged  a  fire  all  ready 
to  light  when  any  of  the  party  came  back,  so  that 
if  they  found  any  game  or  fish  they  would  be  able 
to  cook  it  immediately.  Consequently  when 
captain  and  Ben  returned,  the  fire  was  soon  going, 
and  the  crabs  put  into  the  hot  ashes  to  cook.  Hans 
had  found  a  comfortable  shade  from  the  sun  behind 
some  huge  rocks  which  was  very  pleasant  to  the 
captain  and  Ben,  who  had  not  found  a  particle  of 
shade  during  the  time  they  were  exploring  and  so 
were  very  much  heated,  for,  although  the  hour 


35 


The  God  of  Civilization . 

was  early  the  heat  of  the  sun  was  intense,. 

During  the  absence  of  captain  and  Ben,  Hans 
had  busied  himself  making  a  bucket  of  the  staves 
of  the  broken  water  cask  and  needed  only  hoops  to 
complete  it.  The  two  girls  started  to  the  boat  af¬ 
ter  them.  They  had  been  gone  but  a  few  mo¬ 
ments  when  they  rushed  back,  with  their  faces  as 
pale  as  death.  Etta,  throwing  herself  into  her 
father’s  arms,  cried:  “  Papa,  what  shall  we  do, 
where  can  we  hide  ?  They  have  come,  they  have 
«een  us,  I  am  sure  they  have.  Oh,  papa,  papa, 
what  shall  we  do?  ” 

Their  fear  soon  communicated  itself  to  the  whole 
group. 

“What  is  it,”  exclaimed  Captain  Gray,  “who 
has  come  ?  ” 

“The  natives,”  whispered  Mabel,  “don’t  speak 
so  loud,  perhaps  they  didn’t  see  us  after  all.” 

The  captain  was  busy,  meanwhile,  trying  to 
smother  the  fire  by  dragging  a  portion  of  the  old 
sail  upon  it. 

“  If  the  smoke  does  not  attract  their  notice,” 
said  Captain  Gray,  “we  may  still  be  safe,  if  as 
Mabel  thinks,  they  did  not  see  you.” 

“  But  papa,  I  am  sure  they  did  see  us  and  they 
are  cannibals,  I  know  they  are  cannibals.  What 
shall  we  do?  ” 

v  ‘  Put  your  trust  in  the  Eord,  and  fear  not,  ’  ’ 
said  Mabel,  drawing  Etta  close  to  her. 

‘  4  Are  you  never  frightened  at  anything  Mabel, 
you  are  so  calm  ?  ’  ’ 


36  The  God  of  Civilization. 

“Yes,  I  am  afraid  now,  but  I  feel  that  what  is 
best  for  me  will  happen,  and  it  is  useless  for  me  to 
struggle  against  fate. 5 ’ 

“How  many  natives  were  they  and  how  far 
away?”  inquired  the  captain. 

“  There  was  five,  ”  replied  Mabel,  “and  they  were 
j  ust  coming  over  the  crest  of  the  hill  as  we  saw  them .  ’  ’ 

“Five,”  mused  Captain  Gray.  “They  could 
easily  overpower  ns  as  we  are  bnt  three  men  now. 
Oh,  if  Allen  and  Harry  were  only  here.” 

Mabel  raised  her  head  with  a  startled  little  cry. 

4  4Oh,  captain,  what  if  Allen  is  already  in  the  hands  of 
those  horrible  natives;  or  perhaps  he  and  Harry  both 
have  been  killed  and  these  savages  are  seaichiug 
for  further  traces  of  our  party.” 

They  now  lay  as  closely  as  possible  to  the  pro¬ 
tecting  rocks  and  after  Mabel’s  last  words,  a  death¬ 
like  hush  reigned.  The  moments  seemed'  like 
hours  in  the  agonizing  suspense,  for  they  knew 
not  how  close  the  dreaded  savages  might  have 
come  by  now,  as  their  footfalls,  they  were  aware, 
could  not  be  heard  and  they  expected  any  moment 
to  see  their  malignant  faces*  stealthily  peering 
around  the  corners  of  the  rocks.  They  did  not 
dare  to  go  to  the  edge  of  the  rocky  screen  to  see  if 
their  foes  were  in  sight,  for  fear  of  betraying  their 
hiding  place;  they  had  resolved  to  fight  to  the  last 
and  not  be  taken  alive  if  possible. 

Perhaps  Etta  and  Mabel  dreaded  capture  more 
than  the  three  men;  they  also  resolved  to  fight  for 
their  lives,  if  necessary. 


The  God  of  Civilisation. 


37 


CHAPTER  VII. 

The  moments  had  passed  slowly  until  almost  an 
hour  had  gone  by.  Captain  Gray  was  the  first  to 
break  the  long  silence  with:  “I  begin  to  think, 
that  for  this  time  we  are  safe,”  but  hardly  had  the 
words  left  his  lips  when  the  murmur  of  voices  were 
heard.  The  hearts  of  every  member  of  the  little 
party  seemed  to  stop  beating,  so  intense  was  their 
terrible  dread.  In  a  moment  more  the  form  of  a 
strongly  built  young  savage  bounded  over  the  low¬ 
est  part  of  the  rocky  barrier  and  stood  before  the 
horrified  group.  He  was  quickly  followed  by  four 
other  natives. 

The  captain  and  the  rest  of  the  little  party 
sprang  to  their  feet  ready  to  defend  themselves, 
their  backs  against  the  rocks,  their  drawn  knives 
in  their  hands.  But  instead  of  rushing  upon  them, 
the  young  native  smiled  and  pointed  to  something 
he  carried  in  his  hand,  which  was  a  large  concli 
shell,  having  a  curved  piece  of  bright  pearl  shell 
attached  to  it  in  a  curious  manner,  the  whole  ar¬ 
rangement  being  fastened  to  a  long  cord  of  braided 
grass,  and  said  in  a  kind  voice: 

“Pish  !  Ahleka,  Fish  !  Have  no  fear  of  Ahleka. 

The  surprise  of  the  little  group  can  be  better  im¬ 
agined  than  described,  at  hearing  very  fair  English 
spoken  by  this  stalwart  young  native,  whose  skin 


38  The  God  of  Civilisation. 

was  a  rich  nut-brown,  and  whose  only  clothing 
consisted  of  a  strip  of  braided  grass  wound  about 
his  waist  and  hanging  in  a  deep  fringe  half  way  to 
the  knees.  The  rest  of  his  body  was  totally  de¬ 
void  of  covering  or  ornament,  except  a  necklace  of 
claws  that  encircled  his  throat.  He  was  a  splendid 
specimen  of  manhood ;  tall  and  straight  as  a  young 
tree,  broad  shouldered,  muscular  and  supple. 

The  strangeness  of  hearing  words  they  could 
understand,  flow  from  his  lips,  in  a  full  musical 
tone,  when  they  had  expected  to  hear  only  sounds 
unintelligible  to  them,  was  so  great  as  to  make  the 
little  party  stare  at  the  natives  with  open  eyed 
wonder,  as  Ahleka  continued: 

“My  people  will  do  you  110  harm.  We  war  not 
with  the  children  of  the  lands  beyond  the  seas.  But, 
how  came  you  here?  We  have  found  your  large 
waa  (canoe)  close  under  the  rocks .  Did  you  come 
from  lands  beyond  the  rising  of  Ka  La  (pointing  to 
the  sun)  and,  how  did  so  few  warriors  bring  so 
large  a  waa  so  far?  ’  ’ 

The  natives  were  regarding  curiously  the  group 
before  them. 

Captain  Gray  answered,  “No,  we  did  not  come 
in  so  small  a  boat  from  our  land,  but  our  big  ship 
was  burned  at  sea,  and  nine  days  have  we  drifted, 
until  we  came  upon  your  island.” 

Mabel  now  broke  in  with:  “Are  there  white 
people  on  your  island?’  ’ 

“White  people,  daughter  of  mahina  (the  moon), 
what  are  white  people  ?’  ’ 


The  God  of  Civilization.  39 

4 ‘Why,  do  you  not  know  ?  and  yet  you  speak 
English;  we  are  white  people,  not  brown  like  your¬ 
self  and  your  friends.  ” 

4 ‘Are  all  your  people  like  you,  daughter  of  mahina, 
as  if  the  light  of  Ka  L,a  shone  forever  on  bright 
^  pearls  ?” 

Mabel  was  a  little  confused  at  his  admiring 
glance,  but  answered:  “Yes,  do  you  not  see,  all  my 
friends  are  white,  also?” 

“The  two  daughters  are  white,  as  you  say,  but 
not  so  white  are  the  warriors.  ’  ’ 

There  was  a  general  laugh  at  this  remark.  Etta 
spoke  up  for  her  bronzed  father  and  the  two  sailors, 
saying,  “they  are  indeed  darker  than  we,  but  the 
rays  of  the  sun  made  them  so,  while  we  live  indoors.  ’ ’ 

The  sailors  were  indeed  very  much  sun-burned, 
while  Captain  Gray  was  naturally  a  very  dark  man. 
There  was  no  denying  the  fact  that  they  presented 
a  strong  contrast  to  the  two  girls,  who  were  both 
fair,  with  light  hair,  particularly  Mabel,  whose 
complexion  was  extremly  delicate,  O11  attempting 
to  talk  with  the  other  natives,  Captain  Gi^iy  wras 
surprised  to  find  that  they  understood  but  a  word 
or  two  of  what  was  said  to  them . 

“You  have  not  told  us  yet:  are  there  other  of 
our  people  living  on  your  island  ?’  ’ 

“No,  ilot  of  your  people.  My  father  speaks  your 
tongue.  He  has  taught  me  to  speak  it  also,  but  he 
is  of  our  people. 5  ’  * 

“But,  if  hespeaks  English  he  must  be  anAmerican 
or  an  Englishman,  ’ 5  cried  Mabel. 


40 


The  God  of  Civilisation. 

“No,  said  I,  not,  he  is  my  father.  How  is  he  of 
your  people  beyond  the  rising  of  Ka  La.  ”  No  waa, 
in  all  my  life  before,  ever  came  to  our  land,  nor 
heard  I  of  any  that  ever  came.  ’  ’ 

“But  is  he  dark,  like  you,  or  white  like  us?” 
persists  Mabel,  feeling  sure  that  his  father  must  be 
a  white  man,  having  noticed  that  all  of  the  natives* 
with  him  were  much  darker  than  he . 

“He  is  as  thy  father,”  answered  Ahleka,  point¬ 
ing  to  Captain  Gray. 

‘  ‘This  is  not  my  father,  my  father  is  beyond  the 
rising  of  the  sun .  This  is  the  father  of  my  friend,  ’  ’ 
she  said,  pointing  to  Etta. 

“Did  not  your  father  come  from  some  far 
country?”  inquired  the  captain. 

“Yes.  It  is  said  by  the  people  of  our  village 
that  the  fiku  (fig)  trees  have  been  in  blossom  many, 
many  times,  since  my  father  and  two  other  Alii 
(chiefs)  descended  from  pale  mahina  to  dwell  among 
our  people.  They  spoke  not  as  our  people  spoke, 
but  soon  learned  our  language.  My  father  taught 
me  your  strange  tongue  as  a  pastime,  and  when  I 
saw  the  faces  of  the  mahina  maidens  I  spoke  it  to 
them.  But  come  let  me  take  you  to  my  father .  ’  ’ 

“Not  yet,”  answered  Captain  Gray,  “we  have 
two  more  who  belong  to  us  and  we  must  wait  till 
they  come  back,  and,  besides  that  we  have  not 
eaten  yet.” 

On  hearing  this,  Ahleka  turned  and  spoke 
a  few  words  to  one  of  the  natives,  who  quickly 
started  in  the  direction  of  the  boat.  Another 


The  God  of  Civilization .  41 

native  set  about  rebuilding  the  fire.  The  native 
who  had  gone  to  the  boat  soon  returned,  bring¬ 
ing  a  bundle  done  up  in  large,  green  leaves.  This 
he  laid  upon  the  ground  and  proceeded  to  open, 
having  handed  to  one  of  the  other  natives  a  num¬ 
ber  of  fish  which  he  had  also  brought,  strung  upon  a 
sharp  stick.  The  fish  were  quickly  dressed  and 
wrapped  in  several  layers  of  the  large  leaves,  when 
they  were  placed  in  the  hot  ashes  to  cook,  while 
out  of  the  bundle  were  produced  some  delicious 
looking  mangoes,  some  figs,  a  large  bread  fruit 
which  was  already  cooked,  and  some  tamarinds. 
These  things  were  intended  to  be  eaten  by  the 
fishermen  at  midday.  They  also  had  a  couple  of 
gourds  to  drink  from.  They  quickly  spread  the 
meal,  using  the  broad  leaves  for  plates.  The 
repast  was  almost  prepared,  when  Allen  and  Harry 
wTere  seen  coming  around  the  point  towards  the  camp. 
Mabel  and  Etta  ran  forward  to  meet  them,  breath¬ 
less  to  tell  them  of  the  strange  events  that  had 
happened  while  they  had  been  away.  Allen  could 
hardly  believe  the  wonderful  story;  it  seemed  in¬ 
credible  that  they  should  have  found  English- 
speaking  aboriginees.  The  idea  was  almost  weird. 
When  he  had  reached  Captain  Gray  and  the  rest  of 
the  party,  he  found  it  indeed  true . 

“Now  that  we  are  all  together  again  we  had 
best  have  something  to  eat .  What  have  you  there 
Allen  ?  ’  ’  asked  the  captain. 

Allen  had  now  cut  open  a  couple  of  the  papiea 
fruit  and  found  them  to  be  juicy  and  not  unpleas- 


42  The  God  of  Civilization . 

ant  to  the  taste.  They  contained  a  large  number 
of  little  shot-like  seeds,  which,  at  first,  he  thought 
to  be  the  part  of  the  fruit  to  be  eaten,  but  soon 
found  his  mistake. 

“Take  of  our  food  to  eat,”  said  Ahleka,  “and 
when  you  have  eaten  and  rested,  we  will  go  to  the 
village.” 

“But  do  not  you  and  your  friends  need  the  food 
for  yourselves  ?  ’ 5  inquired  the  captain. 

“No,  not  so,  we  shall  not  fish  to-day,  but  shall 
go  with  you  to  my  father,”  saying  which,  Ahleka 
motioned  to  put  the  fish  upon  fresh  leaves  also, 
which  was  deftly  done  by  the  native  boy  who  had 
been  attending  to  the  fire.  The  meal  proved  a  de¬ 
lightful  one,  the  fish  juicy  and  toothsome,  the  bread 
fruit  a  pleasant  change  from  liard-tack,  the  fruits 
delicious.  The  gourds  had  been  filled  with  clear 
water  into  which  a  number  of  tamarinds  were  drop¬ 
ped,  making  a  cool,  refreshing  drink,  somewhat 
acid  to  the  taste. 

After  having  done  full  justice  to  what  had  been 
provided  for  them,  they  began  to  feel  as  if,  after 
all,  their  lot  was  not  such  a  hard  one;  so  reviv¬ 
ing  are  the  effects  of  a  dainty  meal. 


The  God  of  Civilisation. 


43 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

They  were  soon  on  their  way  with  Ahleka  and 
his  friends,  to  the  village,  which  they  reached  in 
about  two  hours’  time.  The  village  was  built  at 
almost  the  other  extreme  of  the  island.  After 
having  crossed  the  hill,  where  the  girls  had  first 
seen  the  natives,  they  went  but  a  short  distance  re- 
fore  they  came  to  two  canoes,  into  one  of  which 
Ahleka  stepped  and  held  out  his  hand  to  assist 
Mabel  in.  Etta,  the  captain  and  Allen  were  all 
told  to  arrange  themselves  in  the  same  canoe  and 
the  three  sailors  were  directed  to  get  into  the  other, 
which  one  of  the  native  boys,  whom  Ahleka  called 
Kaluha,  was  directed  to  manage;  the  other  three 
natives  pushing  the  canoes  out  into  the  water, 
which  seemed  to  be  a  long  arm  of  the  sea,  which 
extended  far  into  the  island,  cutting  it  almost  in 
two. 

Captain  Gray,  on  seeing  that  the  three  natives  were 
to  be  left  behind,  exclaimed:  u  It  is  too  bad  for  us 
to  eat  their  breakfast  and  then  take  their  boats  from 
them .  How  will  they  get  to  the  village  ?  ” 

“Have  no  fear  for  them,”  replied  Ahleka,  “the 
village  is  on  that  side  of  the  island.  We  often 
walk  from  the  village  here;  indeed  it  is  the  shortest 
way,  but  by  canoe,  is  the  most  pleasant” 


44  God  of  Civilization . 

The  canoes  seemed  to  fairly  skim  over  the  bright 
water  so  rapidly  did  they  go.  They  had  gone 
swiftly  onward  for  an  hour,  when  the  canoes  were 
again  headed  for  the  shore. 

After  having  landed,  there  was  still  quite  a  dis¬ 
tance  to  walk  before  reaching  the  village,  but,  at 
last,  it  was  espied  enbowered  in  trees  of  every  des¬ 
cription;  the  stately  cocoanut  and  the  spreading 
candlenut  tree,  with  its  delicate  silver  green 
foliage,  contending  for  supremacy.  The  houses 
were  built  of  grass,  and  were  scattered  here  and 
there,  without  any  regard  for  regularity,  but  seem¬ 
ing  as  if  built  wherever  a  large  cluster  of  trees 
offered  their  friendly  shade ;  at  the  side  of  most  of 
the  houses  a  *  sort  of  trellis  had  been  arranged  by 
sticking  one  end  of  long  poles  in  the  ground  and 
leaning  the  other  end  against  the  roof  of  the  house. 
These  trellises  were  covered  by  flowering  vines  of 
great  variety  and  brilliancy,  the  whole  effect  being 
one  of  exceeding  loveliness.  Under  these  flowery 
bowers,  which  were  open  at  each  end,  were  spread 
mats  of  the  finest  workmanship,  being  braided  of 
loliala  (a  tree  possessing  a  fibre  of  extreme  fineness.) 
Some  had  the  appearance  of  goats  fleece,  so  skill¬ 
fully  were  they  woven,  leaving  fibres  three  or  four 
inches  in  length,  loose  on  the  top  of  the  rug;  others 
were  braided  in  a  smooth,  close  surface . 

Mabel  exclaimed,  on  coming  in  sight  of  the 
village:  “How  lovely!  I  never  saw  anything  half 
so  beautiful;  it  seems  like  a  vision  of  dreamland.” 

“And  is  not  your  country,  that  has  such  beautiful 


The  God  of  Civilization .  45 

maidens,  far  more  lovely  than  our  land?”  broke  in 
Alileka. 

“Oh,  no!  Our  country  is  not  one  half  so  en¬ 
chanting,”  said  she. 

There  seemed  a  strange  quigt  brooding  over  the 
village  as  they  drew  near,  and,  on  Etta  speaking  of 
this,  Alileka  said:  “In  my  country  we  sleep  at  mid¬ 
day;  then  each  one  who  is  in  the  village  rests,  so 
that  we  tire  not  ourselves  in  the  heat  of  the  day.” 

“What  a  delightful  custom,  ”  cried  Mabel,  smiling. 

As  they  entered  the  village,  all  still  remained 
quiet.  Alileka  led  them  to  one  of  the  largest  and 
most  beautiful  of  the  houses.  After  offering  them 
seats  on  the  comfortable  rugs  under  the  trellis  that" 
was  a  mass  of  fragrant  bloom.  “This,”  said  he, 
“was  my  house.  Nowit  is  yours.  I  will  leave 
you  now  while  I  go  to  speak  to  my  father,  of  you . 

I  will  soon  return.  These  boys,  ’  ’  pointing  to  the 
one  who  had  been  in  the  canoe  with  the  sailors, 
and  another,  who  had  been  lying  asleep  on  a  mat, 
but  had  gotten  up  as  they  came  in,  “will  wait  upon 
you  while  I  am  gone .  ’  ’  Speaking  a  few  words  to 
the  boys  in  his  native  tongue,  he  departed. 

“That  fellow  looks  like  a  prince,  does’nt  he,” 
said  Allen,  “in  spite  of  his  dark  skin  and  lack  of 
clothing.  ’ ’ 

“Indeed  he  does,”  asserted  Mabel,  “and  acts  like 
one,  too.  I  have  never  seen  a  prince,  but  he  comes 
very  near  my  ideal  of  one.  ’  ’ 

“Eook  out  Mabel,”  laughed  Etta,  “and  don’t  let 
him  play  the  part  of  Prince  Charming.” 


46  The  God  of  Civilization . 

Allen  cast  a  quick,  keen  glance  at  Mabel,  who 
colored  angrily  and  answered  quickly:  “There  is 
no  excuse  for  that  remark.  ’  ’ 

“Why,  Mabel,  you  know  I  did  not  mean  to  annoy 
you,”  said  Etta,  really  sorry  she  had  made  so  hasty 
a  speech.  “Do  forgive  me,  it  was  only  a  joke.  ” 

“That  may  be,  but  not  a  pleasant  one.  I  do 
admire  him  very  much  as  a  savage,  but  the  idea  of 
putting  myself  on  a  level  with  a  brown  skinned 
heathen  is  not  agreeable. 

“Come,  come,  girls,  don’t  get  to  quarreling  over 
our  dusky  friend,”  exclaimed  Captain  Gray,  “this 
„sort  of  thing  won’t  do  at  all.”  In  a  moment’s  time, 
the  girls  had  forgotten  the  little  occurrence  and  all 
went  on  pleasantly. 

The  two  boys  now  came  out  of  the  house,  one  of 
them  carrying  two  peculiar  looking  water  vessels. 
They  consisted  of  large  gourds  covered  with  a 
curiously  wrought  net  work  of  fine  cord,  the  cords 
being  gathered  around  the  top  into  half  a  dozen 
handles  by  which  to  carry  them  conveniently. 
These  calabashes  had  been  filled  with  cool  water 
from  a  little  stream  near  by;  into  one  of  them  a 
number  of  very  fragrant  ginger  flowers  had  been 
thrown,  giving  to  the  water  a  delicate  perfume. 
The  water  from  this  calabash,  the  boy  emptied  in¬ 
to  a  number  of  shallow  gourds  they  had  brought 
with  them.  One  of  the  calabashes  of  perfumed 
water  he  sat  before  each  of  the  party,  putting  beside 
each,  a  piece  of  something  that  looked  like  the 
finest  cloth,  but  was  in  reality  the  bark  of  a  tree, 


The  God  of  Civilization.  47 

beaten  to  extreme  thinness.  It  was  so  evident  what 
was  intended  by  these  attentions  that  the  travellers 
were  not  slow  to  avail  themselves  of  this  provision 
for  their  comfort,  and  found  themselves  much  re¬ 
freshed. 

The  other  boy  had,  in  the  meantime,  been  fill¬ 
ing  small  cups  made  of  half  a  cocoanut,  highly  pol¬ 
ished  and  curiously  carved,  with  the  juice  of 
young  cocoanuts.  This  proved  very  pleasant  to 
the  taste. 

Just  as  they  had  handed  back  the  cups  to  the 
boy,  Ahleka  returned,  and  with  him  his  father, 
whose  appearance  was  in  striking  contrast  to  that 
of  his  son,  Ahleka;  for,  although  he  was  browned 
by  many  years  of  exposure  to  the  tropical 
sun,  and  the  hot  winds  of  this  lovely  island, 
was  unmistakably  a  white  man.  His  long  hair 
hanging  in  soft  silvery  waves,  half  way  down  his 
back,  his  grey  beard  falling  low  on  his  breast, 
while  his  deep-set  grey  eyes  looked  out  from  under 
brows  that  were  almost  as  black  as  Ahleka’ s  own, 
giving  his  face  a  most  peculiar  expression.  He 
was  dressed  in  the  same  manner  as  his  son,  only 
that  over  his  shoulders  was  thrown  a  small  cape 
made  of  bright  feathers.  In  his  hand  he  carried  a 
long  staff.  As  he  came  toward  the  house,  in  which 
Captain  Gray  and  his  shipwrecked  party  were  sit¬ 
ting,  they  could  see  that  the  old  man  was  strongly 
affected  by  their  presence;  in  fact,  his  agitation 
was  so  great,  that  Ahleka  was  obliged  to  support 
his  trembling  form. 


48  The  God  of  Civilisation . 

Captain  Gray,  followed  by  the  rest,  arose  and 
went  forward  to  meet  him.  He  stretched  out  his 
hand  toward  them,  dropping  his  staff.  “Thank 
God,”  he  cried,  “once  more  do  I  speak  to  my  coun¬ 
trymen  !  ’ 5 

After  having  seated  his  father,  Alileka  said,  “I 
have  told  him  all  your  story,  as  far  as  I  knew  it, 
but  he  wishes  to  hear  much  more.” 

“Yes,”  cried  the  old  man,  “tell  me  all.  How 
did  you  get  here  ?  All  these  weary  years  have  I 
prayed  to  God  that  before  I  died,  he  would  let  me 
speak  once  more  to  men  of  my  own  country.” 

Captain  Gray  told  their  story  to  him  in  all  its 
thrilling  details.  He  listened  attentively,  now 
and  then  shaking  his  head  sadly.  When  the  cap¬ 
tain  had  finished,  the  old  man  said,  “You  can  not 
hope  for  deliverance  from  this  sea-bound  land  for 
years,  if  ever.  I  have  been  here  thirty  years.  For 
years  after  I  came  I  spent  my  time  scanning,  with 
anxious  eyes,  the  face  of  the  ocean,  but  no  sign  of 
sail  did  I  ever  see,  except  once,  and  then  the  fire, 
which  I  placed  on  the  highest  hill  on  the  island 
failed  to  attract  attention.  You  are  the  first  sign  of 
life  outside  of  this  island  I  have  seen  for  thirty 
years.  ’  ’ 

His  words  brought  a  feeling  of  horror  to  each 
of  his  listeners.  Must  their  fate  be  what  his  had 
been  ? 

“In  time,”  he  continued,  “I  grew  more  con¬ 
tented  and  ceased  to  look  out  to  sea.  About  that 
time  I  married,  according  to  the  native  custom, 


49 


The  God  of  Civilization, . 

a  young  and  beautiful  girl,  the  daughter  of  the 
reigning  queen  of  the  ^island.  Think  not  that  I 
was  soon  comforted  for  the  loss  of  the  wife  I  had 
left  at  home,  for  that  was  not  the  case ;  but  the 
princess  loved  me  and  one  day  two  of  the  warriors 
came  to  tell  me  that  I  was  expected  to  marry  her, 
and,  as  a  refusal  on  my  part  would  result  in  my 
death,  I  consented  to  the  proposal,  thinking  to 
leave  her  behind  me  when  I  returned  to  my  own 
country;  but  the  girl  I  married  was  so  beauti¬ 
ful,  so  gentle,  so  affectionate  and  devoted,  that  I 
learned  to  love  her  deeply  and  mourned  her  loss 
greatly  when  she  was  taken  away  from  me  by 
death. 5  ’ 

“But  you  have  not  told  us,  as  yet,  how  you  came 
here,”  broke  in  Allen.  “Will  you  not  tell  us 
about  it  ?  ” 

“  ’Tis  a  tale  soon  told,”  he  replied.  “I  left 
England  thirty  years  ago.  It  was  on  the  thirteenth 
of  January,  1857,  and  I  shall  never  forget  that  day. 
I  think  it  is  thirty  years  since  then,  am  I 
right  ?  ’ ’ 

“Yes,”  answered  Allen,  “you  are  right.  Thirty 
years,  and  a  little  over,  as  it  is  now  March.  ’ 

“As  I  was  saying,  I  left  England,  bound  for 
Australia,  on  that  day.  We  had  pleasant  enough 
passage  until  we  had  almost  reached  our  destination, 
when  we  encountered  one  of  those  horrors  of  the 
sea — a  cyclone.  For  days  we  were  at  the  mercy  of 
the  wind,  our  masts  gone  and  a  greater  part  of  the 
upper  works  washed  away.  Our  ship  began  to  leak 


50  The  God  of  Civilization . 

so  fast,  that  with  the  most  desperate  efforts  we  could 
no  longer  keep  her  afloat  and  were  driven  to  take 
to  the  boats.  One  boat  was  smashed  against  the 
vessel’s  side;  a  second  was  swamped  by  the  suction 
produced  by  the  sinking  ship.  We,  in  our  boat, 
alone  escaped,  but  our  sufferings  were  intense. 
What  with  the  stormy  waves  that  dashed  over  us, 
carrying  away  three  of  our  number,  the  horrible 
hunger  we  had  to  undergo,  being  without  any¬ 
thing  to  eat,  and  the  frightful  thirst  that  overtook 
us  before  we  reached  this  island,  my  sufferings 
were  so  great,  that,  whereas  my  hair  had  been  as 
black  as  Ahleka’s  there,  when  I  sailed  from  home, 
when  I  landed  here  it  was  as  you  see  it  now. 
Finally  we  were  thrown  on  the  reef,  that  extends 
almost  around  this  island.  Our  boat  quickly  went 
to  pieces  and  we  clung  to  portions  of  the  wreckage, 
hoping  to  be  at  last  thrown  on  the  island.  Just  as 
we  were  almost  exhausted,  and  about  to  give  up, 
we  saw  several  canoes,  containing  natives,  coming 
rapidly  toward  us.  They  had  been  surf  bathing, 
and  seeing  our  terrible  position,  and  being  kindly 
natured,  had  come  to  our  assistance.  We  were  soon 
in  the  canoes,  but  there  were  only  three  of  us, 
whereas,  when  the  boat  struck  the  reef,  there  had 
been  five,  but  they  w^ere  nowhere  to  be  seen.  After 
bringing  us  to  this  village  they  carrd  for  us  with 
the  greatest  kindness.  It  was  not  long  before  one 
of  our  number,  a  young  doctor,  was  happily  settled 
in  a  little  grass  cottage  with  a  lovely  brown  girl  for 
a  wife.  The  other  member  of  our  party  was  the 


The  God  of  Civilization .  51 

mate  of  the  ship.  He  had  a  sweet  little  wife  back 
in  England,  so  declined  to  marry  a  native  women 
who  wished  him  as  a  husband.  According  to  a 
custom  of  this  people,  he  was  instantly  put  to  death 
by  her  relatives,  who  took  this  method  of  resent¬ 
ing  the  insult  to  their  kinswoman.  If  she  had  been 
a  beautiful  young  maiden,  like  the  doctor’s  bride, 
it  might  have  been  different.  Then  I  married  my 
lovely  Eokie  (a  rose).  We  had  three  children, 
this  son  and  two  daughters.  I  was  happy  and  con¬ 
tented  as  years  went  by,  but  when  Ahleka  was 
twelve  years  old,  a  dreadful  scourge  of  fever  swept 
over  the  island,  and  my  wife,  one  of  my  daughters, 
and  the  young  doctor  were  among  those  who  were 
marked  by  the  hand  of  death.  Then  I  lived 
on  with  my  son  and  daughter.  I  received  great 
consideration  from  the  people  of  the  island,  as  my 
son  Ahleka  is  their  head  Alii  or  king.  The  line 
of  succession  descending  in  this  island,  not  from 
father  to  son,  but  from  the  mother  to  her  children, 
thus  keeping  the  royal  blood  pure.  Now,  you  have 
heard  my  story.” 

u  Yes,  but  not  your  name,  or  that  of  the  vessel 
in  which  you  sailed,”  said  Captain  Gray. 

“  The  ship’s  name  was  the  (  Castle  Ayreshire.’  ” 
At  the  mention  of  that  name  Allen  Thornton  made 
a  violent  start.  “  And  I,”  continued  he,  “was  her 
captain — Aelen  Thornton.  ’  ’ 

At  the  sound  of  that  name  a  cry  of  astonish¬ 
ment  burst  from  the  lips  of  each  of  the  party. 

Allen,  throwing  himself  on  his  knees,  in  front 


5^ 


The  God  of  Civilisation . 

of  the  old  man,  cried:  “My  father!  My  father! 
Have  I  found  you  at  last?” 

The  old  man  looked  bewildered. 

“You  are  my  father,”  continued  Allen,  “did 
you  not  leave  a  boy,  a  few  months  old,  as  well  as 
a  young  wife,  behind  you  at  Brighton.  ’  ’ 

‘ 4 1  did !  I  did !  ’ 5  sobbed  the  old  man,  1 1  and 
you  are  he.  I  thank  God  for  his  goodness.  To 
think  that  my  other  son  should  be  sent  to  cheer 
my  declining  days.  Surely  God  moves  in  a  mys¬ 
terious  way,  his  wonders  to  perform.  But  your 
mother,  boy,  your  mother.  Where  is  she,  and 
how  ?  Why  did  you  leave  her  ?’  ’ 

u  Father  she  is  happy  and  has  no  need  of  me. 
She  died  when  I  was  fifteen,  after  mourning  you 
as  dead  so  many  years.  ’  ’ 

Captain  Thornton,  as  we  shall  now  call  him, 
pressed  his  hands  tightly  over  his  eyes  to  repress 
his  emotion,  then  clasped  Allen  to  his  breast. 
While  this  scene  was  being  enacted  the  others  had 
gone  a  little  aside. 

“Isn’t  it  all  strange?”  whispered— Mabel  to 
Etta. 

“Yes,  and  to  think  of  Allen  and  Ahleka  being 
half  brothers;  did  you  think  of  that?  ”  answered 
Etta. 

“Sure  enough;  I  had  not  thought  of  that.  I 
wonder  if  Allen  has,  and  how  he  will  like  it  when 
he  realizes  it.  ’  ’  Mabel  spoke  in  a  tone  as  if  she 
should  not  care  for  so  dark  a  brother  herself. 

Presently  Captain  Thornton  turned  and  said, 


53 


The  God  of  Civilisation. 

“My  son,  Ahleka^  has  asked,  that,  in  his  name  I 
extend  the  hospitality  and  protection  of  the  village 
and  island  to  you  all,  which  I  gladly  do;  he  also 
wishes  to  give  to  Captain  Gray  and  the  two  young 
ladies,  this  house  and  the  one  adjoining,  which  are 
his  own.  He  will  provide  for  the  sailors  with  you, 
hereafter,  and,  as  for  my  son  Allen,  his  comfort 
shall  be  my  care. 5  ’ 

During  this  conversation  the  village  had  literal¬ 
ly  awakened  from  its  sleep,  and  from  every  little 
grass  house  came  streaming,  dusky  forms.  They 
clustered  around  Ahleka,  listening  with  open-eyed 
astonishment  to  the  strange  story  he  was  telling 
them  in  their  own  musical  tongue,  with  many  a 
gesture.  Presently  a  number  of  smiling  girls  dart¬ 
ed  off,  and  soon  returned  with  longleis  (bands  )  of 
flowers,  made  by  braiding  the  brightest  and  sweet¬ 
est  flowers  with  ferns,  or,  a  sweet  smelling  vine, 
into  long  garlands,  with  which  they  proceeded  to 
deck  each  of  the  strangers,  putting  them  over  one 
shoulder  and  under  the  other  arm  like  a  military 
sash,  leaving  long  ends  to  fall  almost  to  the  gronnd. 
More  garlands  were  wound  about  their  waists, 
placed  upon  their  heads  and  around  their  necks  un¬ 
til  they  were  fairly  clothed  in  flowers;  the  girls, 
meantime,  laughing  gayly,  and  repeating  in  their 
soft,  musical  voices,  ah  mie  ha  (you  are  welcome.) 


54 


The  God  of  Civilization . 


CHAPTER  IX. 

The  village  of  Nahua  is  in  a  great  excitement 
to-day.  Everything  wears  an  aspect  of  unusual 
gatety.  The  houses  are  bedecked  with  flowers, 
and  in  the  center  of  the  village  has  been  erected 
two  rows  of  high  poles  standing  about  twenty  feet 
apart  and  extending  in  a  line  almost  two  hundred 
feet  long.  Garlands  of  flowers  are  stretched  from 
the  top  of  these  poles  in  all  directions  and  are  also 
wound  around  the  poles,  the  whole  forming  a  cano¬ 
pied  avenue  of  exceeding  beauty.  Under  this 
canopy  were  placed  two  rows  of  straw  mats;  furth¬ 
er  on  were  laid  more  mats  in  the  form  of  a  letter  H. 
On  these  mats  was  spread  a  banquet  consisting  of 
raw  fish  with  chili  peppers,  fish  dried  in  the  sun, 
fish  that  had  been  wrapped  in  leaves  and  then 
cooked,  devil  fish  which  had  been  salted  and  dried, 
its  long  slender  tentacles  being  regarded  as  an  es¬ 
pecial  dainty .  Then  there  was  lemu,  or  sea  kale, 
plantain,  kalo,  a  vegetable  resembling,  somewhat, 
the  potato,  there  was  kui,  or  candlenut,  ground 
to  a  coarse  powder  and  salted,  to  be  eaten 
as  a  relish  to  the  fish.  There  were  mangoes, 
guavas,  oranges,  dates,  figs,  pomgranites,  papiea, 
young  cocoanuts,  the  meat  of  which  was  not  yet 
hard,  but  of  a  thick  creamy  appearance  and  had  to 


55 


The  God  of  Civilisation . 

be  scooped  out  with  little  spoon-shaped  pieces  of 
shell.  Then  there  was  a  large  number  of  small 
cups  made  of  wood  curiously  carved,  containing  a 
peculiar,  greyish  looking  mass  of  something  that 
would  put  one  in  mind  of  paste,  if  one  were  not 
told  it  was  a  very  much  liked  dish,  in  fact,  being  the 
piece  d  ’  resistance  of  the  feast.  Into  these  little 
dishes  of  poi,  as  it  is  called,  a  native  will  daintily 
dip  the  first  finger,  then  giving  it  a  quick  twirl, 
wrap  a  sufficient  quantity  on  the  finger,  when  it  is 
skillfully  and  gracefully  conveyed  to  the  mouth. 
For  drinking,  were  provided  small  calabashes  full 
of  the  juice  of  the  young  cocoanut  and  large  cala-* 
bashes  containing  awa  awa,  a  drink  very  much  es¬ 
teemed  by  them,  being  in  its  effects  very  much 
like  whisky. 

The  cause  of  all  this  preparation  was  the  fact 
that  it  was  the  yearly  celebration  of  the  maiden’s 
feast.  On  this  day  the  inhabitants  of  the  four  vil¬ 
lages  on  the  island  gathered  at  Nahua,  the  principal 
village  of  the  kingdom. 

All  the  morning  of  this  day,  Mabel  and  Etta  had 
been  very  busy  and  now  were  resting  under  the 
shade  of  the  trellis  of  their  cottage,  when  a  native 
girl,  about  sixteen  years  old,  came  toward  the  house, 
followed  by  an  older  girl,  each  bearing  in  their 
hands  the  fall  dress  of  a  native  maiden;  the  younger 
girl  was  Kaelea,  the  sister  of  Ahleka .  She  was 
slender  and  graceful ;  her  charms  would  have  at¬ 
tracted  the  notice  of  a  sculptor  at  first  glance;  her 
face  was  expressive;  her  features  delicate;  her  eyes 


56  The  God  of  Civilization . 

brown,  large,  soft  and  langourous;  her  hair  hung 
in  a  wavy  mass  far  below  her  waist.  She  moved 
with  a  peculiar  grace  seldom  seen.  But,  if  she  was 
beautiful,  what  was  Maula,  who  came  with  her, 
Maula  was  the  maiden  of  the  village,  of  Howcu,  the 
village  on  that  part  of  the  island,  which  was  beyond 
the  arm  of  the  sea;  she  was  a  vision  of  voluptuous 
loveliness,  tall  and  stately,  grand  in  her  proportions; 
her  eyes  could  melt  in  tenderest  mood  or  flash  in 
the  wildest  anger  or  proudest  defiance.  She  seemed 
to  bend  every  one  to  her  will,  so  strong  and  passion¬ 
ate  was  her  nature.  She  was  much  darker  than 
Kaelea,  being  a  full  blooded  native.  In  her  bearing 
she  somehow  made  one  think  of  a  tigress;  when  in 
a  happy  mood,  moving  with  a  sinuous  grace,  which 
was  fascinating,  and  when  angry,  one  could  but 
admire  her  grandeur. 

As  these  two  girls  were  crossing  the  open  space, 
between  the  two  houses,  Etta  was  saying  to  Mabel, 
UI  can  hardly  believe  that  it  is  six  months  since  we 
landed  here.  Does  it  seem  possible  to  you  ?’  ’ 

uNo,  it  does  not,  and  yet  it  is  strange  that  the 
time  should  seem  to  pass  quickly,”  replied  Mabel. 
UI  feel,  whenever  I  think  of  my  father,  that  I  should 
be  unhappy,  instead  of  contented,  as  I  am.  My 
poor  father,  his  heart,  I  know,  is  almost  broken, 
for  I  was  his  all;  and  long  ’ere  now  he  has  given  us 
up  as  dead.  My  poor,  poor  father,  I  can  picture  in 
my  mind  his  grief.  ’ 5 

uDonot  think  of  that  Mabel.  Above  all  not  to- 


The  God  of  Civilization .  57 

day  when  every  one  is  expected  to  be  happy  and 
make  merry,”  begged  Etta. 

Mabel,  now  seeing  the  two  girls  coming  towards 
them,  got  up  to  receive  them,  as  did  also  Etta. 
Kaelea  and  Maula  entered  the  cottage,  with  the 
adornments  they  held  in  their  hands,  extended 
laughingly  towards  the  two  American  girls. 

Maula  was  the  first  to  speak:  “Your  father  and 
your  friend  have  long  been  wearing  the  dress  of  our 
country ;  now  we  shall  see  how  fair  and  beautiful  you 
will  look  when  dressed  in  the  costume  which  nature 
teaches  her  children  to  wear.  Your  loveliness  is  ob¬ 
scured  by  the  ugly  garments  that  are  put  upon  you  to 
hinder  your  movements .  When  you  are  dressed 
as  we  are,  you  will  be  free;  yon  will  never  wish  to 
again  put  on  those  clothes  which  make  you  so  un¬ 
comfortable.  ’  ’ 

“Well,  you  see,  they  do  not  seem  at  all  un¬ 
comfortable  to  ns,”  laughed  Mabel,  “but,  as  our 
clothes  are  completely  ^yorn  out,  we  are  obliged  to 
dress  as  you  do,  and  I  have  no  doubt  we  shall  like 
it,  too,  ”  this  she  added  as  she  noticed  a  slight  frown 
on  Mania’s  face.  Kaelea  took  Etta  aside  and  soon 
arrayed  her  in  the  costume  .  In  the  meantime, 
Maula  was  showing  Mabel  the  mysteries  of  a  Nahua 
maiden’s  toilet.  First  she  placed  around  her  waist 
a  skirt  which  reached  to  the  knees,  being  composed 
of  a  series  of  fringes  of  grass;  around  her  body  was 
wound  a  length  of  soft  kapa,  or  tree  fibre  cloth,  in 
color  bright  blue,  this  being  passed  around  the  body 
twice  and  tied  at  the  side,  had  both  a  picturesque 


58  The  God  oj  Civilization. 

and  modest  effect.  Around  her  neck  was  hung  a 
necklace  of  shells,  pure  white  in  color,  and  about 
the  size  and  shape  of  a  grain  of  rice;  this  necklace 
encircled  her  throat  about  twenty  times.  On  her 
arms  were  placed  shell  bracelets,  on  her  ankles  the 
fringe  of  soft  grass.  Last  of  all  a  sort  of  chaplet, 
made  of  the  brightest  feathers,  which  crowned  her 
head.  When  Maula  had  placed  this  upon  her  shin¬ 
ing  hair,  Mabel  stood  arrayed  for  the  first  time  in 
the  native  dress  which  she  was  hereafter  to  wear. 

“I  feel  so  oddly,  Maula,  with  this  short  skirt,  ” 
she  said. 

“You  will  like  the  dress,  I  am  sure,  when  you 
are  used  to  it,”  answered  Maula.  “There  will  be 
no  maiden  at  the  feast  half  as  beautiful  as  yourself, 
and  happy  will  he  be,  whom  you  choose  to  be  your 
husband.  ’ 5 

“Oh,  do  not  think  I  intend  to  choose  a  husband,” 
quickly  answered  Mabel,  blushing  a  deep  crimson, 
“I  shall  not  choose  a  husband.” 

“No,”  queried  Maula.  “then  do  you  not  love 
your  friend  Allen?” 

“No,”  came  the  answer.  It  was  not  pleasant 
to  Mabel  to  be  thus  questioned,  yet  she  could  not 
resent  it,  as  it  was  not  intended  to  displease  her. 
“I  do  not  love  Allen,  alid  if  I  did  I  should  not 
choose  him,  for  in  my  country  the  young  girls 
must  not  choose  their  husbands,  but  wait  to  be 
asked  in  marriage  by  the  young  men.” 

“  Do  you  mean  you  do  not  love  him?”  exclaimed 
Maula. 


59 


^  The  God  of  Civilization. 

“No,  indeed,  I  do  not.  Why  do  you  ask?” 

“Ah,  now  is  Maula  happy.  Mania  loves  Allen. 
Oh,  how  she  loves  him.  But  she  would  have 
waited  until  the  moon  maidens  had  chosen .  Then, 
if  you  had  chosen  him,  Maula  would  have  taken 
her  canoe  far  out  beyond  the  reef  and  thrown  her¬ 
self  to  the  sharks.  ’  ’  As  the  girl  spoke,  a  passion¬ 
ate  light  shone  in  her  eyes,  forcing  Mabel  to 
believe  her.  “But  now  he  is  Maula’ s.  Howl 
love  him .  I  shall  be  so  kind,  so  gentle,  to  him 
that  he  shall  love  me  in  return,  tylaula  shall  be  a 
soft,  cooing  dove  in  his  hands,  a  wild  beast 
of  the  hills  to  his  enemies.” 

“But  what  if  he  refuse  you  ?  ” 

4  4  He  will  not  when  I  look  with  love  into  his 
eyes,  open  my  arms  and  fold  him  to  my  breast,  and 
press  my  burning  lips  to  his.  I  shall  dance  before 
him.  He  shall  see  my  strength,  my  ease  of  move¬ 
ment,  my  grace ;  he  will  love  me !  ’  ’ 

She  beat  her  heaving  breast  with  her  clenched 
hands,  and  Mabel  stood  aghast  at  the  intensity 
of  the  girl’s  love.  She,  too,  could  but  think 
that  Allen  would  not  be  able  to  resist  this  beauti¬ 
ful  tigress. 

The  girl  continued,  4  4  and  if  he  scorns  my  love, 
and  says  no,  then  he  shall  die.  It  is  our  country’s 
custom.  No  man  is  fit  to  live  who  will  refuse  a 
maiden’s  love.  But  he  shall  not  die  at  the  hands 
of  our  warriors,  but  I  shall  kill  him!  Maula  has  a 
strong  arm  and  can  handle  the  spear  with  as  sure 
an  aim  as  her  brothers .  Maula’ s  hand  shall  end  his 


6o 


The  God  of  Civilization . 

life.  I  have  sworn  it,  if  he  refuses  my  love.  But  he 
will  not,”  calming  herself.  “  But  you  say  that  in 
your  country  the  maidens  wait  to  be  asked.  There 
must  be  many  who  have  no  husbands.” 

uYes,  that  is  so,”  answered  Mabel,  “but  there 
is  one  objection  to  your  way;  if  the  man  does  not 
love  the  maiden  whom  he  marries,  he  will  be  un¬ 
happy.  Have  you  no  unhappy  marriages  ? 5  ’ 

“No,  they  rarely  occur.  You  see,  on  the  day  of 
the  maiden’s  festival,  each  maiden  chooses  the  one 
she  loves;  from  that  moment  they  belong  to  each 
other,  but  at  the  end  of  a  year  she  is  at  liberty  to  go 
back  to  her  home  and  he,  also,  is  permitted  to  take 
her  back  to  her  father’s  house  if  he  finds  she  is  not 
lovable,  kind,  obedient  and  all  that  he  desires  in  a 
wife;  so  that  all  the  time  she  tries  to  please  him 
and  any  maiden  can  make  a  man  love  her  by  her 
affectionate  gentleness,  and  when  he  learns  to  love 
her  he  tries  to  please  her  so  that,  at  the  yearly 
feast  she  shall  not  wish  to  leave  him,  and  each  year 
they  renew  their  vows.  ’  ’ 

“Oh,”  said  Mabel,  “a  sort  of  yearly  probation. 
It  is  a  good  plan,  for  then  they  constantly  strive  to 
please  each  other .  ’  ’ 

Etta  now  advanced,  accompanied  by  Kaelea, 
towards  the  other  two  girls.  She,  too,  was  fully 
dressed  in  the  costume  of  the  island.  Her  neck¬ 
lace  was  a  bright  red  coral,  the  strip  of  cloth 
about  her  waist  a  delicate  yellow;  otherwise  her 
dress  was  the  same  as  Mabel’s. 


The  God  of  Civilization. 


61 


CHAPTER  X. 

The  four  girls  now  left  the  house,  going  toward 
the  canopy  of  flowers.  As  they  drew  near,  a  mur¬ 
mur  of  gay  voices  greeted  their  ears,  a  scene  of 
dream-like  beauty  met  their  eyes .  The  rich  and 
varied  color  of  the  foliage;  the  fringed  heads  of  the 
cocoanuts  waving  like  vast  plumes  against  the  sky ; 
the  bronzed  red  of  the  mangoes  hung  in  luxuriant 
plenty  on  hundreds  of  trees;  locust  trees  showering 
their  fragrant  white  blossoms  all  around ;  the  deli¬ 
cate  accasia  trembling  in  each  breath  of  air  in  a 
thousand  feathery  masses;  the  date  palm  with  its 
pendant  shower  of  fruit ;  the  lou-hale,  whose  slen¬ 
der  spear-like  foliage  and  bright,  orange  colored 
fruit  lends  it  a  subtle  charm;  the  ohia  lifting 
high  its  mass  of  crimson  ponpons,  all  growing  in 
tropical  profusion;  the  ia-ia  whose  flame  colored 
tufts  of  bloom  seemed  to  spring  from  every  tree 
as  its  parasitic  arms  spread  in  all  directions;  the 
perfume  of  flowers  was  wafted  like  incense  .to 
the  god  of  love  on  the  warm  breeze  that  came  soft¬ 
ly  over  the  summer  sea,  whose  wavelets  touched  by 
the  sun,  shone  like  bright  silver,  and  the  soft 
curves  of  creamy  breakers  could  be  seen  through 
this  long  vista  of  everlasting  green . 

Already  the  inhabitants  had  gathered  at  the  place 


62  The  God  oj  Civilization, 

of  festivity,  for  it  was  now  after  the  hour  of  rest; 
music,  sweet,  rythmic  and  weird,  arose  from  tom 
toms,  gourds  and  a  sort  of  musical  rattle  accom¬ 
panied  by  a  hundred  girlish  voices.  Mabel  and 
Etta  stood  entranced  by  the  charm  of  it  all. 

Captain  Gray  and  Allen,  together  with  Captain 
Thornton,  or  Alii  Mahina  (moon  chief,  as  he  was 
called  by  the  people  of  the  island),  also  Ahleka, 
were  already  seated  on  a  large  mat,  watching  the 
gay  scene.  Allen  had  a  leis  of  ginger  flowers 
bound  around  his  head,  also  one  about  his  neck. 
It  looked  oddly  enough  to  see  these  white  men  and 
girls  dressed  in  the  costume  of  this  strange  people. 
The  girls  found  places  on  the  mat  beside  Captain 
Gray,  and,  when  they  had  been  seated  about  five 
minutes,  there  arose  a  wild  shout  of  joy  from  hundreds 
of  lips  that  sung  a  song  of  triumph  and  love.  The 
tom  toms  and  gourds  were  beaten  wildly  by  the 
palms  of  the  hands,  of  a  score  of  players  who  were 
arranged  a  little  way  off  on  each  side  of  the  avenue 
or  lanai,  as  it  was  called.  As  the  weird  strains  in¬ 
creased  young  men  bounded  with  joyous  leaps 
toward  the  lanai  where  they  arranged  themselves 
on  one  of  the  lines  of  mats.  They  were  closely  fol¬ 
lowed  by  the  maidens  who  quickly  placed  them¬ 
selves  on  the  line  opposite. 

The  young  girls  were  a  vision  of  grace  and 
beauty,  the  armlets  and  necklaces  of  white  shells 
and  bright  corals  making  a  lovely  contrast 
to  their  rounded  arms  and  shapely  throats,  _ 
glistening  like  bronze,  their  faces  aglow  with 


The  God  of  Civilisation .  63 

animation  and  delight,  their  lithe  limbs,  firm, 
rounded  and  supple,  their  every  movement 
grace.  The  ceremonies  began  by  the  young  men 
showing  their  strength  and  agility,  by  throwing 
high  in  the  air  the  heavy  spears  they  carried  and 
catching  them  as  they  descended.  After  these  feats 
of  prowess  had  been  completed,  amidst  the  wildest 
excitement,  there  came  a  strange  stillness  over  all 
the  participants  and  on-lookers,  but  in  a  moment 
the  strains  of  music,  played  in  softest  tones,  seemed 
to  descend  from  the  very  heavens,  so  sweet  was  it. 

One  after  another  the  maidens  joined  their  fresh 
voices  to  the  strain  until  it  seemed  to  fill  ones  very 
soul  with  ecstasy.  The  chant  grew  louder  and  the 
girls  began  to  beat  the  air  gently,  with  long  feather 
wands,  which  they  carried  in  their  hands;  soon 
their  bodies  began  to  sway  in  an  undulating  motion, 
keeping  time  to  the  chant.  Then,  waving  their 
hands  above  their  heads,  they  would  advance  toward 
the  young  men  and  then  retrace  their  steps,  each 
girlish  form  meanwhile  waving  to  and  fro  like  a 
young  tree  bent  in  the  wind.  The  music  grew 
faster  and  more  intense,  the  girls  no  longer  sang; 
a  langourous  expression  filled  their  eyes  which 
spoke  only  of  love.  A  voluptuous  smile  was  011  each 
lip,  the  hips  moving  gently  to  and  fro,  with  a 
peculiar  motion,  set  every  little  fringe  of  grass  in 
their  short  skirts  to  quivering.  Now  and  then 
some  quicker  movement  would  float  the  light  skirts 
high  in  the  air,  revealing  to  the  rapt  eyes  of  the 
beholders  glimpses  of  rounded  limbs  above  the 


64  The  God  of  Civilization . 

knee.  The  wands  were  now  placed  on  the  mats, 
unbinding  from  about  their  waist’s  the  strips  of 
cloth,  and,  holding  it  in  both  hands,  they  con¬ 
tinued  the  dance,  waving  the  scarfs  of  bright-hued 
cloth,  first  high  above  their  heads,  then  passing  it 
beneath  their  feet,  keeping  up  that  peculiar  serpent¬ 
like  motion,  swaying,  twisting  and  twirling  in  a 
hundred  ways.  When  this  dance  was  finished  the 
girls  took  up  their  wands  and  each  one  advancing 
toward  the  line  of  young  men,  touching  lightly  the 
young  man  of  her  choice.  Mania  being  the  maiden 
of  highest  rank  was  the  first  to  advance,  with  un¬ 
bound  waist,  carrying  her  scarf  on  her  arm.  She 
touched  Allen  softly  with  her  wand,  looking  at 
him  with  loving  eyes  the  while.  He  stepped  for¬ 
ward  as  one  bound  by  some  strange  sweet  spell. 
She  quickly  bound  about  his  loins  the  strip  of 
bright  yellow  cloth  that  had  lately  encircled  her 
own  waist,  in  token  that  he  now  belonged  to  her, 
and  as  a  warning  to  other  maidens  to  choose  else¬ 
where.  He  also  tied  on  her  arm,  high  above  the 
elbow,  a  band  of  woven  sea  grass,  on  which  was 
strung  two  small  conch  shells  in  token  that  she 
was  his.  This,  with  the  unbound  waist,  being  the 
distinguishing  mark  of  the  unmarried  woman. 

Maula  was  followed  in  quick  succession  by  other 
maidens. 

uMy  love,  my  own,  let  us  not  stay  until  all 
have  chosen,”  whispered  Maula,  “let  us  go  to¬ 
gether  to  the  sea  shore  where  none  may  hear  our 
words  of  love.  ’  ’  Allen  moved  as  one  in  a  dream, 


The  God  of  Civilization.  65 

so  strong  was  her  charm  for  him.  She  held  out 
her  warm  arms  to  him  and  he  was  soon  held  to  her 
so  closely  that  he  could  feel  her  heart  beats.  Her 
ecstasy  was  shared  in  by  him,  and,  twining  his 
arms  about  her,  answered,  uYes,  my  queen,  let  us 
go,  ’  ’  saying  which,  the  pair  disappeared  down  the 
long  vista  of  flowers  and  waving  trees. 

An  hour  later  the  tom  toms  were  again  heard, 
this  time  calling  all  to  the  feast.  The  maidens 
and  the  young  men  of  their  choice,  took  their  seats' 
on  the  soft  mats  which  were  placed  in  the  centre 
piece  of  the  letter  H,  the  older  ones  of  the  com¬ 
pany  sitting  at  the  sides. 

It  was  now  evening  and  the  banquet  was  lit  by 
means  of  kui-kui,  or  candle  nuts,  strung  on  cords 
of  braided  sea-weed  and  hanging  from  tree  to 
tree,  being  lighted  at  the  top  and  burning  with  a 
blue  light;  the  thousands  of  these  little  lamps  made 
it  seem  like  fairyland.  The  feast  lasted  long  and 
high  ran  the  merriment  of  these  happy  children 
of  nature  on  this  isle  of  the  blest.  Presently  the 
moon  arose,  bathing  the  scene  in  a  flood  of  silvery 
light,  making  it,  if  possible,  still  more  bewitching. 
After  supper  dancing  was  resumed  and  lasted  far  into 
the  morning. 


66 


The  God  of  Civilisation* 


CHAPTER  XL 

We  will  leave  Mabel  and  her  friends  on  the 
Island  of  Kaahlanai  (the  isle  of  the  sun  )  and  we 
will  return  to  the  home  of  Mr.  Miller. 

After  Mabel’s  departure,  the  wedding  of  Rucy 
Maynard,  which  was  soon  to  take  place,  was  hast¬ 
ened  by  Harry  Ploward  being  sent  by  his  firm  to 
Europe.  Not  wishing  to  go  without  his  bride,  the 
preparations  for  the  wedding  were  hurried,  and  six 
weeks  after  Mabel  had  sailed  for  Australia  Harry 
and  Rucy  were  married.  Their  wedding  was  a 
grand  affair,  Mrs.  Maynard’s  ambition  being  satis¬ 
fied  in  the  matter  of  display  and  expense,  as  her 
brother,  Mr.  Miller  made  liberal  provision  for 
Rucy  in  every  respect.  After  the  wedding  the 
bride  and  groom  left  for  New  York  on  their  way  to 
Europe,  and  Mrs.  Maynard  was  perfectly  happy  as 
a  wedding  trip  to  Europe  was  the  acme  of  refine¬ 
ment  and  could  only  be  indulged  in  by  a  select 
few. 

As  the  weeks  dragged  themselves  wearily  into 
months  and  still  no  tidings  came  of  the  Western 
Shore,  or  her  ill-fated  crew  or  passengers,  Mr. 
Miller  gave  up  his  loved  daughter  as  lost.  He  no 
longer  took  an  interest  in  his  business  but  would 
sit  with  folded  hands  thinking  of  Mabel  for  hours 


The  God  of  Civilization.  67 

* 

at  a  time.  Mrs.  Maynard  tried  in  every  way  to 
have  her  brother  throw  off  his  grief.  One  day  she 
said  to  him,  “Why.  don’t  you  try  to  arouse  yourself 
from  this  melancholy,  James,  and  take  some  inter¬ 
est  in  the  life  around  you?  You  can’t  bring  Ma¬ 
bel  back  by  this  ceaseless  mourning .  ’  ’ 

Mr.  Miller’s  face  was  pitiful  as  he  looked  up  and 
reiterated,  ‘  ‘Interest  in  life.  What  interest  have  I 
in  life,  now  that  she,  my  darling  child,  is  gone  ? 
What  have  I  worked  for  all  these  years,  but  for  her 
sake  ?  What  did  I  care  for  money,  but  that  she 
might  enjoy  it?  No,  there  is  nothing  left  for  me 
to  live  for.  Oh,  why,  why  did  I  ever  let  her  leave 
me  ?  Now  in  my  old  age  she  is  gone,  gone.”  He 
dropped  his  head  in  his  hands  and  his  whole  frame 
shook  with  emotion. 

Mrs.  Maynard’s  face  darkened.  She  had  no 
patience  with  such  grief  which  after  months  could 
show  no  signs  of  abatement.  Her  nature  could 
not  comprehend  it.  Mr.  Miller’s  constant  brooding 
over  his  trouble  soon  told  upon  his  health,  and 
rapidly  developed  a  disease  that  had  been  lurking 
in  his  system  for  years.  So  quickly  did  his  health 
fail  that  about  ten  months  after  Mabel  left  home, 
he  was  no  longer  able  to  leave  his  bed.  Day  by 
day  he  grew  worse  until  six  weeks  later,  when  he 
was  laid  to  rest  in  Done  Mountain  cemetery,  and 
Mabel  was  now  an  orphan. 

The  day  after  the  funeral  Mr.  Faxon,  Mr.  Miller’s 
lawyer,  read  the  will  to  Mrs.  Maynard. 

“Why,  Mr.  Faxon,  he*could  not  have  been  in  his 


68 


The  God  of  Civilization, 

right  mind  when  he  made  such  a  will,”  exclaimed 
Mrs.  Maynard. 

“I  think  he  was,  my  dear  Mrs.  Maynard.  Why 
do  yon  doubt  it?” 

“ Would  any  man  in  his  right  senses  make  such 
an  absurd  will  as  that  ?” 

“Why,  Mrs.  Maynard,  I  do  not  see  anything 
absurd  in  it.  He  has  left  you  well  cared  for.” 

“Well  cared  for?  What  do  you  mean  Mr. 
Faxon  ?  Has  he  done  right  by  his  only  sister  to 
simply  give  me  the  income  of  his  estate?  Don’t 
yon  see  I  can’t  sell  or  dispose  of  a  single  thing? 
Do  you  think  that  is  just?”  she  asked. 

“Well,  you  surely  would  not  wish  to  dispose  of 
this  home  would  you  ?” 

“Well,  no,  of  course  not,  but  I  don’t  like  to  feel 
myself  bound  so  strictly.” 

“Then  I  am  sure  your  income  from  the  estate 
will  be  a  handsome  one.” 

“Yes  I  know,  as  an  income,  but  it  is  not  pleasant 
to  feel  that  I  cannot  sell  anything  if  I  wish  to, 
just  because  my  brother  happened  to  have  a  crazy 
idea  in  his  brain  that  his  drowned  daughter  would 
come  from  the  dead  some  day  and  need  it.  I  declare, 
I  lose  all  patience  when  I  think  of  it.  ”  She  paced 
angrily  up  and  down  the  room  as  she  said  this;  in 
her  heart  was  no  feeling  of  sorrow  for  the  loss  of  her 
brother,  but  rather  one  of  baffled  ambition  at  hav¬ 
ing  all  his  wealth  kept  from  her  immediate  pos¬ 
session. 

“I  do  not  know,  Mrs.  Maynard,  but  what  if  I 


The  God  of  Civilization.  69 

had  a  daughter  dissappear  as  mysteriously  as  Mabel 
has,  I  should  feel  as  Mr.  Miller  did.” 

“Oh,  nonsense!  As  I  said  before,  it  is  an  absurd 
idea  that  after  all  these  months  she  should  ever 
come  back.  And  even  if  he  had  felt  so,  why  couldn’t 
he  have  contented  himself  with  putting  the  time  at 
five  years,  instead  of  twenty,  that  the  estate  is  to  be 
held  for  her?  I  shall  not  want  money  then  as  I  do 
now.  Why,  Mr.  Faxon,  do  you  realize  that  I  shall 
be  an  old  woman  at  the  end  of  twenty  years  ?  ’  ’ 

“Not  an  old  woman,”  replied  Mr.  Faxon,  for  he 
was  something  of  a  diplomat  and  would  not  make 
so  damaging  an  admission  to  any  woman,  much 
less  to  one  of  Mrs.  Maynard’s  disposition,  as  that 
such  a  thing  were  possible  as  for  a  lady  to  grow 
old.  “Not  an  old  women  surely,  Mrs.  Maynard, 
but  simply  twenty  years  older,  but  you  see  it  is 
then  to  go  to  Lucy  and  her  children  if  she  should 
have  any.  You,  of  course,  will  have  your  allow¬ 
ance.” 

She  made  a  quick  dart,  with  her  hand,  toward 
the  will  which  lay  on  the  table  between  them.  Mr. 
Faxon,  however,  saw  her  intention  and  cooly  placed 
his  hand  over  the  papers,  then,  gathering  them 
slowly  up  asked:  “Did  you  wish  to  see  that  clause, 
Mrs.  Maynard?” 

“No,  I  remember  now  you  did  read  such  a  con¬ 
dition,  but  it  is  unjust  to  rob  me  of  what  should 
rightfully  be  mine,  just  for  a  whim,  and  then,  after 
waiting  all  those  years,  to  see  it  slip  through  my 
fingers .  ’  ’ 


7° 


The  God  of  Civilization . 

She  could  no  longer  control  her  rage,  but  broke 
forth  in  a  torrent  of  angry  words,  in  the  midst  of 
which  Mr.  Faxon  reached  for  his  hat  and  bowed 
himself  out. 


The  God  of  Civilization . 


71 


CHAPTER  XII. 

‘ CI  declare,  Lucy,  I  never  heard  of  a  woman  as  un¬ 
reasonable  as  you  are,”  said  Harry  Howard  to  his 
wife  one  evening  just  after  dinner,  “you  expect  me  to 
be  at  your  beck  and  call  every  minute  of  the  time.” 

“No,  Harry,  I  don’t,  but  I  would  like  you  to 
stay  at  home  once  in  a  while  in  the  evening;  I  get 
so  lonesome,”  was  the  response. 

“Lonesome?  "Why  don’t  you  go  out  then?” 

“Why  Harry!  How  can  I  go  out  by  myself? 
You  know  very  well  I  can’t  do  that.” 

“Can’t  you?  There  are  plenty  of  woman  who 
do.  I  don’t  see  what  there  is  to  prevent  you  from 
going  if  you  like.  All  you  have  to  do  is  to  order 
the  carriage  and  go.  ’  ’ 

“Oh  Harry,  I  don’t  want  to  go  any  place  with¬ 
out  you.  Why  can’t  you  go  with  me  occasionally, 
instead  of  going  to  the  club  every  evening  ?” 

“Thunder,  I  don’t  care  for  your  stupid  balls  and 
parties.  You  know  that  very  well,  and  I  am  not 
going  to  be  dragged  about  to  so-called  entertain¬ 
ments  by  anybody.  ’  ’ 

“But,  I  don’t  care  very  much  for  balls  and  par¬ 
ties  myself,  and  really  don’t  care  to  go;  but  dear, 
I  would  like  to  have  you  stay  quietly  at  home  with 
baby  and  I  once  in  a  while.” 


72 


The  God  of  Civilization . 

“Quietly  at  home,”  sneered  the  handsome  Mr. 
Howard,  “oh,  that  is  a  pleasant  prospect.  And 
then  talk  about  quiet  ;  I  don’t  suppose  that  fine 
daughter  of  ours  would  air  her  lungs  more  than  a 
dozen  times  during  this  same  quiet  evening.” 

“Harry,  how  can  you  speak  so  of  baby  Mae? 
You  know  our  darling  has  never  been  well  and  we 
can  not  expect  her  to  be  as  good  as  other  babies 
on  that  account,  but  if  you  will  only  stay  home 
this  evening,  I  will  send  her  up  stairs  with  the 
nurse,  and  then  you  will  not  hear  her  at  all.” 

“No,  I  might  not  hear  her,  but  every  five  min¬ 
utes  you  would  be  running  up  stairs  to  see  if  she 
had  turned  over  in  bed.  ’  ’ 

“No,  Harry,  I  promise  you  I  will  notfgo  even 
once,”  answered  Lucy,  trying  to  smile,  “and  if 
you  will  only  stay  we  will  have  some  music.  I 
will  play  for  you  and  you  shall  sing,  as  you  used 
to  before  we  were  married.  ’  ’ 

“Nonsense;  that  did  well  enough  then  but  it 
is  rather  stale  now.  Come,  don’t  be  foolish,  I  hate 
scenes,  and  if  you  knew  how  dreadful  you  look 
when  you  put  on  that  doleful  face,  and  cry  like  a 
baby,  you  wouldn’t  do  it.”  This  remark  was 
called  forth  by  the  fact  that  Lucy  was  trying  hard 
to  repress  the  tears  which  would  betray  them¬ 
selves.  “And  besides  that,  I  can’t  stay  at  home 
this  evening  if  I  wanted  to,  for  I  promised  several 
of  the  boys  at  the  club  that  I  would  come  down; 
in  fact,  they  would  hardly  let  me  come  home  to 
dinner.”  He  did  not  add  that  his  only  reason  for 


The  God  of  Civilization .  73 

coming  home  was  to  put  on  a  dress-suit,  in  which 
he  was  already  arrayed. 

“I  don’t  believe  there  is  another  man  who  neg¬ 
lects  his  wife  as  you  do  me,”  sobbed  Lucy. 

“Bah  !  I  don’t  neglect  you;  you  have  all  the 
cash  you  need,  don’t  you,  and  you’ve  got  as  swell 
a  house  and  as  many  servants  as  ought  to  satisfy 
any  woman.  Then  there  isn’t  a  woman  in  the 
city  who  can  beat  your  turnout  when  you  go  for  a 
drive.  Any  one  would  think,  to  hear  you  talk, 
that  I  was  a  brute  of  a  husband,  instead  of  one 
who  provides  you  with  everything  your  heart  could 
wish  and  let  you  have  your  way  in  everything.  I 
declare  I  am  sick  and  tired  of  women;  you  can 
never  do  enough  for  them.  I  have  seen  enough  of 
women  and  I  must  say  I  am  disgusted  with  the 
whole  lot.  ’  ’ 

Lucy  was  too  indignant  to  make  any  answer, 
but  hastily  left  the  room.  Mr .  Howard  surveyed 
himself  critically  in  the  long  pier  glass,  turning 
himself  this  way  and  that.  His  appearance  seemed 
to  please  him  as  he  turned  with  a  satisfied  air  to  the 
door,  through  which  he  disappeared.  Jumping 
into  a  waiting  coupe,  he  gave  an  order  to  the  driver, 
and  was  soon  on  his  way,  not  to  the  club,  but  to  the 
florists,  where  he  found  a  magnificent  bouquet  await¬ 
ing  him.  He  looked  it  over  carefully;  it  proved 
satisfactory,  and,  handing  the  man  a  crisp  ten  dol¬ 
lar  bill  he  drove  rapidly  away  again,  but  still  not 
to  the  club.  The  driver  did  not  seem  to  need  any 
instructions  as  to  where  to  go,  but  soon  drew  up 


74  The  God  of  Civilization . 

in  front  of  a  large,  brilliantly-lighted  house. 

As  Mr.  Howard  mounted  the  steps  the  door 
opened  and  two  women  appeared.  Both  were 
young  and  exceedingly  good  looking.  They  each 
gave  him  a  hand  and  a  warm  welcome .  To  the 
taller  of  the  two  he  handed  the  flowers,  in  which  she 
immediately  buried  her  face,  and  after  giving  them 
a  little  sniff,  said:  “You  are  a  perfect  jewel,  Mr. 
Howard,  to  bring  me  these  lovely  flowers.  I  never 
saw  anyone  as  delightfully  thoughtful  as  you  are.  ’  ’ 
“  If  you  are  pleased  with  them  I  am  happy,  for 
to  please  you,  what  would  I  not  do.” 

u  You  are  just  too  sweet  for  anything,  to  say 
such  pretty  things  to  me.  But  why  are  you  so  late  ? 
I  have  been  looking  for  you  ever  so  long.” 

“  Oh,  its  my  wife  again.  She  has  been  treating 
me  to  another  lecture.  ’  ’ 

“You  poor  fellow!  So  she  is  jealous?  Well, 
I  can’t  blame  her.  I  should  be  horribly  jealous  if 
I  were  your  wife,  you  are  so  good  looking,  you  know.  ’  ’ 
Some  way,  this  last  remark  of  the  gay  Miss  Rosie 
Hastings  did  not  please  Mr.  Howard,  for,  although 
he  cared  really  nothing  for  his  wife,  he  did- not  like 
the  idea  that  Rosie  Hastings  should  for  a  moment 
imagine  herself  as  his  wife.  For  much  as  he  fre¬ 
quented  that  lively  young  person’s  home  he  did  not 
like  her  to  assume  too  much. 

“But  come,”  she  continued,  “before  the  crowd 
gets  here,  lets  you  and  I  have  a  little  music .  I 
will  play  your  accompaniments  and  you  shall  sing 
to  me.  I  do  so  love  to  hear  you  sing.  ’  ’ 


75 


The  God  of  Civilization. 

Could  it  be  possible  Harry  Howard  had  forgotten 
the  conversation  of  not  an  hour  previous,  as  he 
replied,  “that’s  a  capital  idea.  I  am  just  in  the 
mood  for  a  few  songs.  ’  ’ 

One  gay  song  followed  another  until  the  spacious 
rooms  had  begun  to  fill  up  with  young  men  and 
women.  There  was  an  air  of  freedom  about  the 
young  women  which  at  once  proclaimed  them  as 
not  of  the  social  set  who  feel  the  need  of  a  chaperone. 
Dancing  was  soon  begun  and  lasted  well  into  the 
morning  hours.  Mr.  Howard  was  one  of  those  who 
seemed  to  enjoy  the  dancing  immensely,  notwith¬ 
standing  the  fact  that  he  had  told  his  wife  that  he 
cared  nothing  for  that  sort  of  thing . 

After  her  husband  had  left  the  house,  poor  Ducy 
went  sadly  into  the  room  where  her  year  old 
baby  was  sleeping .  Throwing  herself  on  her  knees, 
she  buried  her  face  in  the  downy  covering  of  the 
little  sleeper,  sobbing,  “oh  baby,  you  do  not  know 
how  wretched  I  am.  I  wish  I  could  die .  Two 
short  years  ago  I  was  so  happy,  but  now  what  have 
I  left  in  life  besides  you,  my  frail  little  pet.” 


76 


The  God  of  Civilization. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

How  happily  the  day  sped  on,  the  weeks  ran  in¬ 
to  months  bringing  no  change  to  this  flower  embow¬ 
ered  kingdom  of  the  sea .  Etta  and  Mabel  spent 
their  time  in  learning  to  weave  the  beautiful,  soft 
mats,  in  the  plaiting  of  which  they  grew  very  skill¬ 
ful.  They  also  made  for  themselves  large  hats  of 
delicate  white  bamboo.  These  drooping,  broad 
brimmed  hats,  when  surrounded  by  wreaths  of 
natural  flowers  and  placed  upon  their  heads,  gave 
the  girls  an  exceedingly  quaint  and  picturesque 
appearance.  Their  girl  friends  of  darker  color  also 
made  hats  for  themselves,  as  women  of  whatever 
land  or  clime,  are  ever  ready  to  follow  a  caprice  of 
fashion  which  appeals  to  their  ideas  of  the  beautiful 
or  useful.  The  girls  had  also  become  interested  in 
teaching  their  language  to  a  large  number  of  the 
young  people  of  Nahua  and  learning  in  return,  the 
soft,  poetic  tongue  of  their  entertainers.  They 
learned  to  sing  the  sweet  songs  of  tender  love  that 
seemed  to  float  on  the  fragrant  air,  for  there  was 
music  and  dancing  continually,  as  this  happy  people 
gave  expression  to  their  feelings  without  restraint. 

One  afternoon  the  two  friends  sat  idly  watching 
the  soft  play  of  the  waves  on  the  beach  when 
Mabel  suddenly  .said,  “Do  you  know,  Etta, 


77 


The  God  of  Civilisation. 

if  it  were  not  for  my  father  I  believe  I  should  never 
wish  to  leave  Kaahlanai,  but  as  it  is  I  long  for 
something  to  happen  that  I  may  once  more  see  my 
father.  ’  ’ 

‘  ‘I  feel  as  you  do,  Mabel.  It  is  so  pleasant  here 
with  these  days  of  perpetual  summer.  There 
seems  a  feeling  of  perfect  contentment  to  steal  over 
one  without  one’s  knowing  why  it  is.” 

“The  reason  is,  I  think,”  replied  Mabel,  “that 
we  have  constantly  around  us  those  who  are  con¬ 
tented  and  happy,  and  there  is  nothing  so  conta¬ 
gious  as  contentment.  They  live  to  enjoy  the 
beauties  of  God’s  handiwork  instead  of  striving 
continually  after  *£nipty  honors .  To  satisfy  their 
eyes  no  painter’s  skill  is  needed.  They  have  but 
to  look  about  them  at  dawn,  when  the  first  warm 
rays  of  sunlight  bathe  their  home  in  a  flood  of  beau¬ 
ty,  or  watch  the  soft  little  rain  clouds  as  they  drift 
slowly  up  from  the  south,  and  when  it  finally  de¬ 
scends  upon  the  grateful  land  in  a  shower  of  radiance, 
hanging  glistening  jewels  on  every  branch  and  leaf, 
tipping  with  diamonds  every  trembling  blade 
of  grass,  and  watch  the  glorious  hues  of  the  rain¬ 
bow,  that  arches  in  its  loveliness  their  fair  land . 
To  watch  the  showers  here  fills  my  heart  with  a 
feeling  of  surprise  at  the  beauty  of  it  all.” 

“Do  you  feel  that  way,  too,  Mabel?”  broke  in 
Etta,  “I  did  not  like  to  speak  of  it  for  fear  you 
would  laugh  at  my  foolish  notions,  but  that  is  just 
the  way  I  have  come  to  feel.  And,  do  you  know 
I  could  never  see  anything  pretty  in  rain  before  ? 


78  '  The  God  of  Civilisation . 

I  always  hated  to  see  it  rain  at  home,  but  here  it 
is  as  you  say,  a  shower  of  radiance.” 

“Then,'”  continued  Mabel,  “the  evenings  !  If 
the  days  are  filled  with  loveliness,  how  much  more 
the  nights  ?  Ah  !  At  sunset  to  watch  the  sun, 
slowly  losing  itself  ill  the  sea,  and  as  it  sinks,  throw¬ 
ing  broad  beams  of  shimmering  crimson  light  far 
over  the  gently  dappling  waves  until  it  reaches  the 
shore  line,  as  if  it  had  stretched  out  a  loving  hand 
to  give  a  gentle  good-night  touch  with  warm  fin¬ 
gers  to  the  land  on  which,  all  days  in  the  year,  the 
sun  smiles.  And  then,  after  the  sun  has  sunk  to 
rest,  to  watch  the  pure  cold  moon  appear,  like  a 
silver  cimeter  laid  against  the  background  of  dark, 
rich  plush  of  deepest  blue,  and  see  the  twinkling 
worlds  wake  up  one  after  another.  I  never  see  the 
stars  appear  here  but  what  I  think  of  that  sweet 
little  couplet: 

‘Silently,  one  by  one,  in  the  infinite  meadows  of  heaven, 

Blossomed  the  lovely  stars,  the  forget-me-nots  of  the  Angels. ’ 

Then  all  is  silent  in  a  holy  hush  of  expectancy. 
My  whole  being  seems  changed  by  the  strange 
power  of  this  hour  of  calm  repose.  Night  !  how 
divine  is  thy  beauty  beneath  these  southern  skies. 
But  we  seldom  have  positive  night ;  every  time  we 
say  what  a  beautiful  night  we  speak  of  a  rift  in  the 
night  through  which  comes  to  us  more  or  less 
light.  Many  a  night  is  but  a  low,  starry  day,  a 
softened  background  against  which  shines  the  far- 
off  suns  of  millions  of  other  days.  The  world  lies 
in  a  deep  silence,  and  on  fairy-like  wings  of  som- 


The  God  of  Civilization .  79 

bre  hue  comes  sleep  to  drug  the  world  into  happy 
repose. 5  ’ 

“Why,  Mabel,  I  had  no  idea  you  were  so  poetic¬ 
al.  Where  did  you  get  all  your  romantic  ideas  ? 
I  feel  what  you  say,  but  could  not  give  utterance  to 
it  as  you  do.n 

“Well,  my  dear,  there  was  a  time  when  I  would 
have  shrunk  from  giving  voice  to  the  deep,  true 
feelings  of  my  heart,  because  I  felt  they  would 
have  been  ridiculed.  But  here,  among  this  peo¬ 
ple,  I  find  that  the  best  and  most  beautiful  of  their 
thoughts  are  freely  given  expression  to,  and  the 
study  of  nature  awakens  the  heart  to  beauty,  truth 
and  love.  ’  ’ 

The  two  girls  were  still  talking  in  this  strain 
when  a  bevy  of  joyous,  singing  maidens  broke  in 
upon  them  with  the  request  that  they  should  join 
in  a  swimming  contest.  Gladly  assenting  to  the 
proposal,  the  two  girls  joined  their  darker  friends 
and  soon  all  might  be  seen  disporting  themselves 
gaily  in  the  water. 


8o 


The  God  of  Civilization. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

The  village  of  Nahua  is  again  decked  for  the 
yearly  festival  of  the  maidens,  but  as  yet  no  sounds 
of  gaiety  are  heard ;  but  if*  we  bend  our  steps  toward 
the  shining  beach  we  shall  find  it  a  scene  for  a 
painter.  Beautiful  children  lie  on  the  sand,  or  in 
childish  play  half  bury  themselves,  heaping  the 
bright  sand  high  on  their  little  bodies.  Older 
children  search  for  shells  or  bits  of  delicate  coral. 
Young  men  and  maidens  may  be  seen  in  the  water, 
some  going  far  out  to  the  reef  on  surf  boards. 
Among  these  latter  are  Ahleka  and  Mabel,  Ahleka 
guiding  with  skill  the  lightly  floating  board,  while 
Mabel  lies  almost  her  full  length  upon  it.  It  is 
not  by  any  means  the  first  time  since  her  residence 
on  the  island  of  Kaalilanai  that  she  has  been  surf 
'riding,  a  pastime  of  which  she  is  very  fond,  enjoying 
the  excitement  of  it  as  keenly  as  any  native  girl. 

“See!”  she  cried  at  length,  to  Ahleka,  “every 
one  has  gone  up  to  the  village  but  ourselves.  Shall 
we  not  go  back  ?  ’  ’ 

“Yes  we  will  go  back,”  came  the  reply, v  but 
only  to  the  beach,  not  to  the  village.”  He  had 
noticed  before  she  spoke,  that  the  happy  throng  had 
left  the  beach  while  they  were  enjoying  their  ride, 
but  had  said  nothing  as  he  was  glad  to  be  alone 


8i 


The  God  of  Civilisation . 

with  her.  They  were  swiftly  carried  in  shore  on  the 
crest  of  a  rolling  breaker  which  soon  landed  them 
on  the  beach. 

As  Ahleka  stopped  to  draw  in  the  surf  board, 
Mabel  started  up  to  the  beach  in  the  direction  of 
the  village,  but  Ahleka  called  after  her:  “Mabel, 
will  yon  not  stay  and  walk  in  the  sun  until  your 
hair  is  once  more  dry,  and  like  the  rays  of  the 
morning  sun  for  brightness?”  She  returned,  her 
damp  hair  clinging  about  her  shoulders  and  bosom. 
They  paced  slowly  up  and  down  the  silvery  sand, 
and  continued  to  do  so  long  after  her  skirts  of  sea 
grass,  and  her  hair  were  dry ;  but  it  was  so  pleasant 
to  walk  there  in  the  fresh  balmy  morning  air. 
Ahleka  looked  down  at  the  little  figure  beside  him, 
his  eyes  filled  with  the  tenderest  love.  Mabel, 
glancing  up,  encountered  his  impassioned  gaze, 
Ahleka,  my  Ahleka,”  she  softly  murmured, 
hardly  knowing  what  she  said. 

In  an  instant,  as  his  ear  detected  the  tenderness 
in  her  voice,  he  caught  her  in  his  arms,  holding 
her  so  closely  as  actually  to  hurt  her. 

“Ahleka,”  she  said,  “I  was  going  to  ask  why 
you  did  not  join  the  young  men  in  the  festival  of 
the  maidens.” 

“Oh,  my  love,  could  I  join  the  young  men  to  be 
chosen  in  marriage  when  she,  whom  I  adore,  does 
not  join  the  maidens?” 

“But  I  thought  all  unmarried  men  were  obliged 
to  join  the  ranks.  ’ y 

“That  is  true,  but  the  chief  of  each  village  is  an 


82  The  God  of  Civilisation . 

exception,  so  I  need  not  join  unless  I  wish.” 

While  they  had  been  talking,  they  had  found  a 
soft  bank  of  deep  moss  under  wide-spread  trees. 
On  this  bank  they  now  reclined,  Ahleka  holding 
Mabel’s  hand  in  both  of  his. 

‘ ‘According  to  our  custom  I  should  have  waited 
until  you  declared  your  love  for  me,  but  my  father 
has  explained  the  customs  of  your  land  to  me,  and 
I —  oh,  my  love,  my  fair  white  lily,  my  precious 
moon  maiden,  can  you  love  Ahleka?” 

She  raised  her  eyes  to  his,  but  before  she  could 
answer  him,  he  had  showered  warm  kisses  over  her 
face,  neck  and  shoulders,  in  a  transport  of  tender¬ 
ness. 

“All,”  he  cried,  uif  you  say  no,  you  love  me  not, 
I  have  kissed  you,  and  that  is  happiness.”  Then, 
as  she  lay  passive  in  his  arms,  it  filled  him  with  a 
horrible  dread,  and  he  exclaimed: 

“How  can  I  expect  that  you  will  love  me,  who 
am  only  a  savage  at  most,  whose  skin  is  black! 
What  do  I  think  of?” 

“Do  not  speak  so  Ahleka,  I  do  love  you,”  she 
whispered,  putting  her  arm  about  his  neck  and 
nestling  closely  in  his  embrace;  “I  do  love  you; 
how  could  I  help  loving  you  after  all  your  kindness 
to  us.” 

“No,  that  is  gratitude,  not  love,  if  you  feel  that 
way,”  he  said,  relaxing  his  hold  of  her  form. 

“No,  no,  Ahleka,  I  love  you  because  I  cannot 
help  myself.” 

“Then  you  will  be  my  own  ?  Mine  forever,  my 


The  God  of  Civilization .  83 

little  one,”  drawing  her  again  -  close  in  his  arms. 

“Yes,  I  am  yours,”  she  seemed  to  breathe  her 
reply. 

“The  yearly  festival  shall  find  us  ever  fond.  We 
will  join  in  the  festival  to-day,  shall  we  not?” 
asked  he. 

“No,  let  us  wait  until  the  next  festival.  The 
months  between  will  be  so  sweet,  filled  as  they 
will  be  by  our  dream  of  happiness,  ” 

“It  shall  be  as  you  wish,  but  at  least,  we  may 
stand  among  the  young  men  and  maidens  and 
publicly  acknowledge  our  choice.  ’  ’ 

“Yes,  my  Ahleka,  my  prince  among  men,  we 
will  not  be  ashamed  to  acknowledge  our  love.  Is 
it  not  strange  that  we  two,  born  so  far  apart,  hav¬ 
ing  no  knowledge  of  each  other,  and  even  speaking 
different  languages,  should  now  be  held  close  in 
the  embrace  of  love  ?  ’  ’  said  she. 

“It  is  fate,  Mabel,”  he  answered,  “you  were 
born  to  be  mine,  you  have  braved  unknown  seas, 
escaping  wreck,  defying  fire,  and,  in  the  face  of 
death,  been  brought  by  the  hands  of  fate  safely  to 
this  unknown  shore  to  be  mine.  It  was  decreed 
that  you  were  to  be  mine,  and  no  obstacle  is  too 
great  to  be  overcome  by  fate.  I  thank  the  fates 
that  have  smiled  upon  us  and  brought  us  out  of 
the  darkness  of  the  unknown  into  the  happy  light 
of  love.  Now  I  |fear  nothing  that  can  happen 
unless  it  be  the  taking  of  your  love  from  me.” 

“Nothing  can  alter  that,  Ahleka.” 

“In  your  own  land,  did  you  never  love?”  he 


84  The  God  of  Civilization . 

asked,  holding  her  to  him  in  an  agony  of  suspense. 
For  he  was  not  satisfied  that  she  should  love  him 
now,  but  wanted  to  feel  that  he  had  been  her  only 
love. 

“Never  !  Ahleka,  never!  The  young  men  in 
my  land  are  not  nature’s  children  as  you  are,  liv¬ 
ing  pure  and  wholesome  lives,  but  most  of  them 
are  dissipated,  and  vicious  creatures  to  be  abhorred, 
rather  than  loved,  or  else,  weak,  worthless  beings 
that  no  noble  woman  could  give  herself  to  without 
degrading  herself.  The  men  of  my  land  do  not 
study  nature  in  her  wondrous,  varying  moods,  as 
you  do.  Nor  do  they  make  manly  vigor  and  per¬ 
fection  their  first  aim  in  life.  They  have  no  time 
to  give  thought  to  these  things;  they  are  taken  up 
in  the  mad  rush  in  the  pursuit  of  money.  ’  ’ 

1  ‘And  is  not  love  before  money  ?  ’  ’ 

“No,  in  my  land  men  and  women  work  for 
money,  beg  for  money,  steal  for  money,  marry  for 
money,  love  for  money.  No,  in  all  my  life  you 
are  the  only  man,  the  purity  of  whose  motives, 
whose  highness  of  aim,  whose  nobleness  of  nature, 
has  made  him  worthy  of  my  devotion.  ’  ’ 

He  drew  her  yielding  form  closer,  and  stroked 
her  sunny  hair  softly  as  he  said,  “We  are  from 
this  moment  consecrated  to  one  another,  and  you 
shall  never  have  one  moment  when  the  sunlight  of 
happiness  is  dimmed,  if  Ahleka  can  keep  the 
shadow  from  falling  on  the  heart  of  her,  who  is 
dearer  to  him  than  life  itself.” 

How  long  the  happy  pair  would  have  remained 


The  God  of  Civilization .  85 

reclining  under  the  fragrant  trees,  with  the  sweet 
songs  of  bright,  winged  birds,  and  the  soft  plash  of 
the  waves  breaking  at  their  feet,  the  only  sounds 
to  reach  their  ears,  we  cannot  tell,  if  at  that  mo- 
,  ment  Etta  and  Kaelea  had  not  come  bounding 
down  the  beach  in  the  direction  of  their  retreat, 
Etta  crying  out  to  them: 

“Oh,  you  idlers.  Why  are  you  not  dressed  for 
the  feast  ?  The  hour  of  rest  is  over  and  every  one 
is  ready  for  the  festival,  except  you  two.  What 
in  the  world  have  you  been  about,  that  you  are  not 
ready  also?  ” 

The  pair  of  lovers  were  now  on  their  feet  and 
Ahleka  answered,  “We  shall  soon  be  ready. 
Come  Mabel.” 

Etta,  full  of  mischief  and  realizing  the  situation, 
having  seen  Ahleka’ s  arm  clasped  around  Mabel, 
called  after  them:  “Mabel,  don’t  let  him  play 
the  part  of  prince  charming.  ’  ’ 

Mabel  blushed,  for  she  remembered  how  angry 
that  same  remark  had  made  her  two  years  and  a 
half  ago.  She  made  no  answer,  but  cast  a  merry 
look  back  at  the  two  girls  who  were  following 
them  to  the  village. 

The  usual  merriment  of  the  festival  was  indeed 
beginning  as  they  reached  the  village,  but  it  did 
not  take  either  Ahleka  or  Mabel  long  to  array  them¬ 
selves  with  fresh  adornment  for  the  feast,  and  take 
their  place  amongst  the  rest  of  the  young  men  and 
maidens.  Mabel  had  learned  to  dance  the  nui-nui, 
or  maidens  dance,  as  well  as  any  of  the  young  girls. 


86 


The  God  of  Civilization. 

Ahleka  thought  her  doubly  entrancing  as  her  deli¬ 
cate  proportions  were  so  gracefully  displayed  by 
the  movements  of  'the  dance.  They  soon  left  the 
ranks,  returning  to  Ahleka’ s  father,  and  the  rest 
who  sat  upon  the  mats. 

Captain  Thornton  took  Mabel  in  his  arms  and 
said:  “May  heaven  bless  you  my  child.  I  know 
you  will  be  happy  with  Ahleka,  for  he  is  lovable, 
gentle  and  kind.  ’  ’ 

Captain  Gray  looked  at  her,  with  a  peculiar  ex¬ 
pression,  and  said  to  Etta:  “I  would  never  allow 
you  to  marry  one  of  these  black  Apollo’s,  so  don’t 
you  fall  in  love  with  one  of  them.” 

Captain  Thornton  overhearing  this  remark,  spoke 
up,  “You  make  a  mistake,  my  friend;  if  she  loves 
one  of  our  young  men  it  is  far  better  that  she  marry 
him,  for  she  will  not  be  happy  otherwise,  and  you 
surely  do  not  wish  to  see  her  unhappy.” 

“No,  I  don’t  want  to  see  her  unhappy,”  Captain 
Gray  answered,  “but  all  the  same,  she  shan’t  marry 
on  this  island  with  my  consent.” 

Etta  heard  these  words  with  a  sinking  heart,  as 
there  was  a  young  man  of  the  village  of  Howcu, 
the  son  of  the  young  doctor,  who  had  landed  on  the 
island  with  Captain  Thornton’s  party,  with  whom 
she  already  had  had  many  a  pleasant  meeting  in  the 
lovely,  shady  groves  that  were  so  plentiful  on  the 
way  between  the"  two  villages. 


The  God  of  Civilisation. 


87 


CHAPTER  XV. 

The  days  passed  to  the  young  lovers  as  a  dream. 
All  day  long  they  would  wander  under  the  cool 
shade  of  the  fragrant  trees,  listening  to  the  songs 
of  sweet-voiced  birds,  gathering  flowers  and  weav¬ 
ing  them  into  wreaths  with  which  to  adorn  each 
other,  or  disporting  themselves  in  the  warm  sea; 
Mabel  had  become  a  very  expert  swimmer.  Gay 
groups  of  happy  young  people  were  constantly  to 
be  seen  enjoying  the  delights  of  surf  riding  and 
swimming;  our  friends  were  often  of  the  number. 

So  drifted  on  their  happy  life  for  three  months, 
with  no  thought  of  care  entering  their  lives,  no 
idea  of  concealment  of  their  pure  love  for  one  an¬ 
other,  until  one  day,  about  three  months  after  the 
festival,  Ahleka  came  early  to  the  cottage  of  the 
girls,  bringing  fruits  and  flowers  to  them,  as  it  was 
his  custom  to  do  each  morning.  As  Mabel  met 
him  at  the  door  her  loving  eyes  soon  saw  that  there 
was  something  that  troubled  the  heart  of  him  whom 
.she  loved.  Running  to  him,  she  asked:  “What  is 
it,  Ahleka,  what  has  happened  ?” 

“My  father,”  he  answered,  “is  sick.  I  know  not 
what  he  says.  He  speaks  of  strange  things  of 
which  I  know  nothing.” 

“Oh,  Ahleka,  I  will  go  to  him.  I  am  a  good 


88 


The  God  of  Civilization . 

nurse  and  may  he  able  to  help  Kaelea  in  caring  for 
him.”  So  saying,  she  started  in  the  direction  of 
Captain  Thornton’s  cottage,  Ahleka  walking  by 
her  side. 

“Mabel,”  he  said,  “should  I  not  go  to  Howcu 
to  tell  my  father’s  son,  Allen,  of  his  illness?  and  it 
tears  my  heart  to  think  of  leaving  him  now,  when, 
perhaps,  he  may  die  at  any  moment,  to  go  for  the 
son  whom  he  has  only  had  with  him  so  short  a 
time.  But  he  calls  his  name  more  often  than  mine, 
which  shows  that  he  loves  the  son  of  his  fair  wife, 
who  died  beyond  the  seas,  better  than  he  does  the 
son  of  the  wife  who  rests  beneath  our  warm  sun.  ’  ’ 
He  spoke  so  tenderly,  that  Mabel  was  moved  to 
tears,  but  answered:  “No,  Ahleka,  I  am  sure  he 
does  not  love  Allen  best,  but  he  calls  on  Allen’s 
name,  because  he  is  away,  while  you  are  by  his 
side.  Can  you  not  understand  that  ?” 

“Well,  perhaps  so,  but  at  any  rate  I  must  go 
after  him,  so  good  bye,  sweet  one .  ’  ’ 

1  ‘Stay  a  moment.  I  am  sure  Captain  Gray  would 
be  glad  to  go  after  Allen  for  you,  and  then  you  may 
remain  by  the  side  of  your  father.  There  he  comes 
now.”  Saying  which  she  ran  to  the  captain,  who 
was  now  close  behind  them  and  made  the  request 
that  he  should  go. 

“Certainly,  I  will  go,  but  first,  Ahleka,  I  will  see 
your  father,”  saying  which  he  entered  the  cottage 
which  they  had  reached  while  they  were  talking. 
He  found  Captain  Thornton  indeed  very  ill .  He 
realized  that  if  Allen  was  to  see  his  father  before  he 


The  God  of  Civilization .  89 

died  that  no  time  was  to  be  lost.  Captain  Gray, 
in  company  with  two  Nahua  boys,  left  immediate¬ 
ly  for  Howcu  to  bring  Allen  to  his  father’s  bed¬ 
side. 

Mabel  was  soon  comforting  Kaelea  and  trying  to 
sooth  her  grief  by  tender  words. 

It  was  some  time  before  Allen  had  reached  his 
father’s  bedside  as  the  village  of  Howcu,  as  we 
have  already  explained,  was  on  the  other  side  of 
the  arm  of  the  sea  which  divided  the  island;  so  the 
trip  had  to  be  made  partly  by  canoe  and  in  part  by 
land.  The  news  of  his  father’s  serious  illness  was 
a  great  shock  to  Allen,  who  immediately  started, 
accompanied  by  Maula,  for  Nahua.  On  arriving 
there  he  was  met  by  Ahleka  who  conducted  him 
to  their  father.  He  saw  at  a  glance  that  his  father 
was  very  near  the  dread  valley  of  death.  The 
thought  of  losing  his  father  was  very  hard  to  bear. 

“Oh,  father,  why  did  you  not  send  for  me  be¬ 
fore  !  ” 

“My  son,  I  was  not  ill  until  to-day,  but  now  I 
know  my  days  among  you  all  are  numbered,  and 
before  I  die  I  want  to  talk  to  you  of  your  future . 
It  is  my  wish  that  you  should  remain  always  here, 
in  this  land  of  happiness.  ” 

Why,  father,  I  am  not  likely  to  leave  here. 
There  seems  no  possibility  of  such  a  thing.” 

“But  still,  ^Vllen,  the  day  may  come  when  you 
will  be  given  an  opportunity  to  leave  this  heaven 
blessed  land,  and  return  to  your  own  country.  It 
is  of  that  day  I  wish  to  speak.  Think  well,  Allen, 


90  The  God  of  Civilisation . 

before  you  leave  this  paradise  where  all  is  happi¬ 
ness  and  contentment,  where  strife  and  contention 
are  unknown,  to  return  to  the  cold-hearted,  calcu¬ 
lating  world  to  meet,  you  know  not  what  evils, 
but  remain  here  among  a  people  who  have  their 
every  want  provided  for  by  nature,  thus  relieving 
them  of  the  drudgery  of  existence,  where  men  live 
as  God  intended  men  should  live;  where  love  is 
love,  not  licentiousness;  where  each  man  is  proud 
to  claim  his  own  children ;  where  no  woman 
blushes  with  shame  when  she  beholds  the  fruits  of 
her  unhappy  love  ;  where  the  tender  life  of  no  un¬ 
fortunate  infant  is  taken  that  it  may  not  be  a 
living  shame  to  the  authors  of  its  being.  Here,  in 
this  land  where  money  cannot  buy  man’s  honesty 
or  woman’s  love.  Here,  my  dear  son,  is  to  be  found 
true  happiness,  and  it  is  the  dying  request  of  ycur 
father  that  you  live  among  this  gentle,  lovable  peo¬ 
ple  as  your  father  has  done.  ’  ’  The  old  man  drop¬ 
ped  his  head  upon  his  breast  exhausted  by  his  effort. 

“Do  not  think,”  replied  Allen,  “that  I  shall 
ever  want  to  go  back  to  a  false  state  of  civilizaton. 
I  learned  to  despise  it  long  before  I  landed  here 
and  now  that  I  have  lived  here  so  long  and  have 
learned  to  appreciate  the  honesty  and  truthfulness 
of  these  people,  I  do  not  wish  to  leave  them.  And 
then,  is  not  my  wife,  whom  I  love  more  deeply 
each  day,  one  of  these  people?  No,  father,  I 
shall  never  leave  this  land  of  plenty,  peace  and 
quiet.  No,  I  am  too  happy,  as  I  now  live,  to  de¬ 
sire  any  change .  ’  ’ 


9i 


The  God  of  Civilization. 

Captain  Thornton  grew  rapidly  worse,  and,  ere 
the  dawn  of  another  day  he  had  left  the  island, 
where  he  had  passed  so  many  peaceful  years,  for  that 
unknown  land  beyond  the  grave.  All  day  long 
could  be  heard  the  mournful  wailing  of  the  people 
of  Nahua  who  had  gathered  around  the  house  to 
mourn.  The  weird  cries  and  the  slow,  measured 
beat  of  the  tom-toms  that  accompanied  this  pecu¬ 
liar  chant  was  kept  up  all  the  day  and.  night  that 
Captain  Thornton’s  body  lay  unburied.  The 
mourning  was  sincere,  as  the  gentle  old  man  had 
been  loved  as  a  father  by  the  people  of  the  island 
of  Kaalilanai. 

The  next  morning  at  daybreak,  for  in  this  hot 
climate  the  body  could  be  kept  no  longer,  funeral 
rites  were  held  over  the  remains  of  Captain  Thorn¬ 
ton.  The  body  had  been  wrapped  in  many  layers 
of  palm  leaves  and  then  placed  in  a  slender,  light 
canoe;  it  was  now  resting  on  a  bier  formed  of  bran¬ 
ches  of  bamboo.  The  mourners  are  already  gathered 
around,  Ahleka,  Allen  and  Kaelea  having  each  placed 
a  handful  of  lime  on  their  heads  as  a  token  of  their 
grief,  it  being  the  outward  mark  of  mourning  bourn 
by  these  peculiar  people.  The  melancholy  chant 
was  still  kept  up.  Eight  young  men  having  lifted 
the  bier  upon  their  shoulders,  the  funeral  march 
began.  On  each  side  of  the  bier  walked  eight 
young  girls,  each  having  upon  her  head  the  custom¬ 
ary  handful  of  lime,  and  bearing  in  her  hand  a  long 
wand  of  waving  feathers ;  holding  the  wands  so  as 
to  form  an  arch  over  the  canoe  which  contained  the 


92 


The  God  of  Civilisation . 


dead .  After  them  came  Ahleka  and  Kaelea,  Allen 
and  Maula  and  next  Mabel  and  Etta  walking  on 
each  side  of  Captain  Gray;  following  these  came 
the  chiefs  and  their  families  and  the  people  of  the 
villages,  each  one  carrying  a  stone  in  one  hand  and 
branches  of  flowers  in  the  other.  The  procession 
moved  slowly  np  the  hill  which  was  to  be  the  burial 
place.  The  broad  disc  of  the  rising  sun  was  now 
to  be  seen  coming  slowly  above  the  sea,  throwing 
broad  shafts  of  light  over  the  water,  dyeing  the  sky 
coppery  red  which  shaded  into  gold,  then  into  the 
softest  tints  of  yellow  as  the  rays  ascended.  It 
was  a  sight  never  to  be  forgotten  by  any  of  the  little 
group  who  stood  for  the  first  time  on  this  funeral 
mountain,  looking  out  over  the  grief  bowed  heads 
of  the  throng  of  people,  beyond  the  tree  embowered 
islands,  beyond  the  reef  with  the  surf  glistening 
and  ever  changing  in  the  rays  of  the  rising  sun,  far 
out  to  the  glorious  ruler  of  day.  The  canoe  was 
now  placed  upon  the  ground,  the  company  turned, 
and  raising  their  sprays  of  flowers  toward  the  sun, 
chanting  an  invocation  to  the  source  of  light  and 
warmth.  One  after  another  they  drew  near  the 
canoe,  beginning  with  Ahleka  and  Allen,  placing 
upon  it  the  flowers  held  in  their  hands  until  it  was 
hidden  from  view  beneath  a  fragrant  mound .  After 
all  the  flowers  were  deposited,  the  stones  were  piled 
high  over  them,  making  a  rocky  monument  to 
mark  the  resting  place  of  Captain  Thornton — the 
Alii  Maliina.  Then  slowly  they  retraced  their 
steps  to  the  village. 


The  God  of  Civilisation. 


93 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

One  morning,  about  a  month  after  the  death  of 
Captain  Thornton,  as  Etta  and  Mabel  were  prepar¬ 
ing  for  their  morning  bath  in  the  ocean,  they  grew 
confidential,  as  girls  are  apt  to  do  when  arranging 
their  toilets  together. 

“Mabel,”  said  Etta,  “I  envy  yon  the  freedom 
yon  enjoy  in  seeing  Ahleka  so  often  with  none  to 
interfere.  How  I  wish  I  were  in  your  place  for  I 
must  meet  Uala  clandestinely,  so  that  papa  shall 
not  know  of  our  love.  I  hate  to  deceive  papa,  I 
am  sure,  but  I  don’t  know  what  to  do.  Do  you 
think  I  do  right  to  meet  him  as  I  do  ?” 

“Yes  indeed,  I  think  you  are  right  to  meet  him 
if  yon  love  him .  It  would  be  far  better  if  every 
woman  would  cling  to  the  one  man  she  loves;  but 
you  are  not  right  in  meeting  him  secretly.  You 
should  not  be  ashamed  to  acknowledge  your  love 
before  all .  When  one  is  ashamed  of  their  love  it 
is  not  the  pure,  strong  unchangeable  passion  that 
alone  should  be  called  by  that  name.  ’  ’  She  spoke 
warmly,  for  she  did  not  like  this  concealment  on  the 
part  of  her  friend. 

“But  Mabel,  you  do  not  understand  me  at  all. 
I  am  not  ashamed  of  my  love  for  Uala,  but  papa 
has  said  I  should  never  marry  any  one  on  this  island 
with  his  consent.  Now  what  am  I  to  do?” 


94 


The  God  of  Civilization. 

“What  are  you  to  do?  Be  a  true  woman  and 
let  your  holy  love  for  the  man  who  has  won  your 
heart,  speak  hereafter.  L,et  it  be  his  approval  or 
disapproval  you  abide  by.  When  you  were  a  child 
you  owed  your  obedience  to  your  father,  but  now 
you  are  a  woman  with  a  woman’s  love  in  your 
heart  and  you  should  obey  that  love,  even  if  it  is 
in  opposition  to  your  father’s  will.” 

“Would  you  have  me  marry  Uala  without  my 
father’s  consent  ?” 

“Yes,  by  all  means.  You  do  not  seem  to  real¬ 
ize  that  you  are  teaching  deception  to  Uala,  and, 
you  know,  deceit  among  this  people  is  a  thing  un¬ 
known.  Can  you  be  the  first  to  teach  them,  by  ex¬ 
ample,  that  there  are  such  things  as  deceit,  un¬ 
truth  and  dishonesty  ?  ’  ’ 

“No,  Mabel.  No,  you  know  that  I  don’t,”  ex¬ 
claimed  Etta.  “Do  have  some  mercy  on  me. 
You  forget  how  I  am  placed.” 

“No,  I  do  not  forget,”  answered  Mabel,  “but 
you  do  not  belong  to  your  father.  You  are  not  a 
slave.  Your  heart,  your  mind,  your  will,  are 
yours  and  yours  alone.  When  a  father  attempts  to 
govern  the  love  iiYhis  daughter’s  heart  he  under¬ 
takes  that  which  he  has  no  right  to;  for  nature  has 
placed  the  feeling  of  love  strong  in  the  breast  of 
every  woman,  and  whoever  tries  to  thwart  that  love, 
should  realize  that  they  are  responsible  for  what¬ 
ever  of  deceit,  wrong  doing  and  shame  that  may 
follow.  Half  of  the  blighted,  unhappy  women  of 
the  world  are  made  so,  either  by  the  interference 


The  God  of  Civilization . 


95 


of  others,  in  their  love  affairs,  or  by  their 
own  weakness  in  not  daring  to  marry  a 
man  if  his  so-called  social  position  is  not 
equal  to  their  own,  or  whose  purse  is  not  long 
enough  to  satisfy  their  soaring  ambition.  If 
women  married  those  they  loved  and  none  else,  as 
is  done  here,  we  should  have  no  scandals  in  high 
life  to  shock  us,  as  is  now  constantly  the  case.  Oh, 
stop  this  deceit,  Etta,  it  is  unworthy  of  you  !  Be  a 
true  woman.  There  is  no  virtue  more  to  be  ad¬ 
mired  in  woman  than  sincerity,  and  if  you  love 
Uala,  as  you  say - ” 

“Qh,  Mabel  !  can  you  doubt  my  love?”  broke  in 
Etta.  “I  love  him  with  my  whole  heart,  but  I 
did  not  realize  how  false  my  conduct*  was,  until 
now  that  you  have  shown  me  how  wrong  I  have 
been.  I  will  tell  papa  everything  at  once,  and  if 
he  disapproves,  as  I  know  only  too  well  that  he 
will,  I  shall  do  as  you  say,  hold  fast  to  my  reso¬ 
lution,  as  I  know  I  shall  always  love  Uala,  and 
should  be  wretchedly  unhappy  without  him.” 

‘ ‘I  am  glad,  Etta  dear,  that  you  have  come  to  so 
womanly  a  decision.” 

“Do  you  suppose  Mabel,  that  your  father  would 
approve  of  your  marriage  with  Ahleka  if  he  know 
of  it?” 

“Yes,”  answered  Mabel,  “I  am  quite  sure  he 
would.  It  was  from  his  dear  lips  that  I  learned  to 
think  on  the  subject  of  marriage  as  I  do.” 

After  they  had  had  their  bath,  Etta  went  directly 
to  her  father  to  tell  him  of  her  love  for  Uala.  It 


g6  The  God  of  Civilisation . 

was  a  hard  task,  but  she  now  saw  her  duty  and  was 
determined  to  do  it.  After  throwing  her  arms  about 
his  neck,  and  kissing  him,  she  dropped  in  a  grace¬ 
ful  little  heap  upon  the  mat  at  his  feet,  and  began: 
“Papa,  do  you  love  me  very  much  ?” 

‘ ‘What  a  question,  why  child,  you  are  all  in  the 
world  I  have  left  to  love.  Of  course  I  love  you.  ’  ’ 

“But,  papa,  do  you  love  me  lots  and  lots,  as  I 
used  to  say  when  I  was  a  little  thing?” 

“I  love  you  more  and  more  every  day  of  your 
life,  my  dear  child.” 

“Then  you  want  me  to  be  very  happy,  don’t  you 
papa  dear  ?’  ’  An  odd  expression  passed  over  the 
face  of  Captain  Gray,  as  he  replied: 

‘  ‘Want  you  to  be  happy?  of  course  I  do,  you  little 
kitten.  If  I  were  in  America  now,  after  all  this 
coaxing,  I  should  expect  a  request  to  buy  you  a 
seal  skin  jacket,  but  as  this  climate  won’t  do  for 
seal  skins,  and  they  are  not  to  be  had  any  way,  I 
don’t  know  what  I  am  expected  to  give  this  little 
tease  to  make  her  so  wonderfully  happy.  ”  His  tone 
and  words  were  light  and  playful,  but  his  face  was 
stern,  for  he  more  than  half  guessed  what  she  meant 
to  ask. 

“Oh,  papa,”  she  cried,  “I  know  I  am  going  to 
make  you  angry  but  I  cannot  help  it.  I  love  Uala. 
Will  you  give  your  consent  to  our  union?” 

“Never  !  How  can  you  ask  for  my  consent  to 
marry  a  black  beggar  ?  ’  ’ 

“Oh,  papa  !  he  is  so  manly  and  I  love  him  with 
my  whole  heart.” 


97 


The  God  of  Civilisation . 

“Then  the  sooner  you  stop  loving  him  the  bet¬ 
ter,  is  all  I’ve  got  to  say,  for  you  shan’t  marry 
that  black-skinned  hound.  ’  ’ 

“Papa,”  said  Etta,  rising  to  her  feet,  her  whole 
manner  changed  in  a  moment,  from  girlish  playful¬ 
ness  to  womanly  dignity.  She  had  been  stung 
by  her  father’s  scornful  words.  “Papa,  you  have 
always  been  a  kind  and  affectionate  father  to  me  and 
my  love  and  respect  for  you  could  not  be  greater; 
but  from  to-day  my  love  and  respect  is  also  given 
to  another.  His,  I  am  in  heart  and  his  I  shall 
remain  forever.  ” 

“How  dare  you  defy  me  !”  he  cried,  “you  shall 

never  marry  him,  even  if  I  have  to - ”  What 

he  would  have  said  farther  will  never  be  known, 
for  the  sentence  was  never  finished. 


98 


The  God  of  Civilisation . 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Mabel  interrupted  the  conversation  at  this  point 
by  rushing  up  to  Captain  Gray  and  Etta,  exclaim¬ 
ing:  “What  can  be  the  matter  !  Risten,  what  is 
it?”  Listening  a  moment  they  could  hear  the 
shouts  of  hundreds  of  voices,  which  before,  they 
had  been  too  much  occupied  to  notice.  As  they 
looked,  they  saw  Allen  running  in  the  direction  of 
the  village,  waving  his  arms  wildly;  he  was  closely 
followed  by  hundreds  of  the  inhabitants  of  Howcu, 
all  gesticulating  and  shouting.  The  sight  filled 
the  hearts  of  Mabel,  Etta  and  Captain  Gray  with 
a  horrible  fear.  Allen  had,  perahps,  done  some¬ 
thing  to  anger  the  people  of  his  village  and 
they  were  pursuing  him  that  they  might  wreak 
their  vengeance  upon  him,  and  he,  in  his 
extremity,  had  come  to  Nahua  to  seek  protect¬ 
ion  with  them .  The  thought  filled  the  heart  of 
each  of  the  three,  as  they  saw  the  mad  rush  onward 
of  the  men  and  women  who  followed  him.  Mabel 
ran  to  Ahleka,  who  was  crossing  toward  the  place 
where  the  two  frightened  girls  and  Captain  Gray 
stood.  Throwing  herself  into  his  arms  she  cried, 
“Save  us  Ahleka,  save  us  !  Do  not  let  them  kill 
your  brother.  Call  on  your  young  men  to  get 
their  spears  in  readiness  to  protect  us  from  these 


99 


The  God  of  Civilisation. 

people/’  He  held  her  closely  in  his  arms  but 
laughed  heartily  at  her  fears.  “Why,  my  pre¬ 
cious  moonflower,  it  is  a  shout  of  joy,  not  a  battle 
cry  you  hear.  There  has  happened  some  great  thing 
at  Howcu  and  they  are  coming  to  tell  us  of  it.” 

By  now,  Allen  had  reached  them  and  dropping, 
almost  exhausted,  upon  the  ground,  exclaimed: 
“A  ship!  A  ship!” 

‘  What  do  you  say,  a  ship  ?  Do  you  mean  that 
you  have  seen  a  ship  ?’  ’  asked  the  listeners,  in  a 
breath. 

“Yes,  a  vessel  of  some  description.  I  do  not 
know  whether  it  is  a  ship,  a  barque  or  what.  But 
whatever  she  is,  she  is  making  for  the  island,  I  am 
sure.  ’  ’ 

The  listeners  could  hardly  believe  their  ears;  they 
quickly  ascended  the  burial  hill,  which  was  the 
highest  point  on  the  island.  They  could  then 
plainly  see  the  vessel,  which  Captain  Gray  pro¬ 
nounced  to  be  a  barque.  She  was  some  little  dis¬ 
tance  out,  but  it  was  evident  that  she  meant,  in 
some  manner,  to  reach  the  island.  The  anxious 
group  watched  every  movement  of  the  men,  who 
could  be  seen  lowering  away  a  boat,  which  was 
manned  by  eight  sturdy  sailors.  They  finally  set 
out  for  the  island.  Now,  there  was  but  one  safe 
approach  to  that  side  of  the  island,  and  that  was  at 
the  point  where  Captain  Gray  and  his  party  had 
come  ashore  three  years  before. 

A  party,  consisting  of  Captain  Gray,  Allen  Thorn¬ 
ton  and  four  Nahua  boys,  had  already  left  for  the 


IOO 


The  God  of  Civilisation. 

spot  where  their  boat  had  remained  since  their  land¬ 
ing  on  the  island,  safely  moored  under  a  huge  rock, 
as  it  had  been  considered  best  to  leave  it  there,  its 
size  making  it  inconvenient  to  carry  it  -across  the 
island  to  the  village.  It  had  been  used  occasion¬ 
ally  for  fishing  excursions.  Having  arrived  where 
the  boat  was  lying,  they  quickly  loosened  her  from 
her  moorings  set  her  afloat  and  were  soon  threading 
the  narrow  channel  between  the  treacherous  coral 
reefs,  out  to  meet  the  boat  that  was  seeking  a  land¬ 
ing  place. 

The  ship’s  boat  was  now  hid  from  their  view  by 
projecting  rocks  but  they  were  not  long  in  getting 
clear  of  most  of  the  obstructions  in  their  way,  as 
they  were  well  used  to  this  tortuous  little  channel. 
When  they  appeared  in  full  view  of  the  approach¬ 
ing  crew  the  effect  was  startling.  The  sailors  turned 
suddenly,  and  with  redoubled  energy  rowed  toward 
the  vessel;  they  were  fleeing  in  terror  from  what 
they  imagined  to  be  hostile  natives,  come  out  to 
capture  them,  and  their  only  chance  of  safety  seemed 
to  them  to  lie  in  reaching  their  vessel.  Captain 
Gray  and  Allen  as  soon  as  they  discovered  how 
their  party  had  frightened  those  to  whom  they  were 
so  anxiously  hurrying,  began  to  halloo  to  them. 
At  first  the  fleeing  crew  paid  no  heed,  except  to  re¬ 
new  their  efforts  to  reach  their  ship.  Finally  they 
halted,  and  apparently  listened ;  then,  as  if  they  had 
assured  themselves  that  it  was  really  English  that 
they  heard,  they  turned  their  boat  a  second  time 
toward  the  laud. 


IOI 


The  God  of  Civilization . 

It  was  but  a  few  moments  before  the  two  boats 
were  close  together.  Captain  Gray  addressed  the 
newcomers .  He  was  answered  by  the  mate  of  the 
vessel  who  was  in  commend  of  the  boat.  “We  be¬ 
long  to  the  Eliza  Judd,”  said  he,  “and  such  a 
knocking  about  as  we’ve  had  ain’t  often  come  my 
way,  though  I’ve  been  to  sea  off  an  on  these  twenty 
odd  years.  I’ll  tell  ye  now,  we’ve  had  a  tough 
time  of  it.” 

“Where  do  you  come  from?”  asked  Captain 
Gray. 

uWe  hail  from  New  Zealand,  and  are  bound  for 
San  Francisco,  but  we  have  had  such  bad  weather 
and  been  delayed  so  long  that  our  stock  of  fresh 
water,  which  was  not  large  at  the  start,  has  given 
out  and  under  this  devilish  hot  sun  we  can’t  stand 
it  long  without  water.  So,  sighting  this  island, 
the  captain  made  up  his  mind  he  would  land  in 
search  of  fresh  water  and  run  the  chance  of  meeting 
with  unfriendly  natives,  but  by  George,  we  didn’t 
expect  to  find  the  island  inhabited  by  whites.” 

“Well,  the  island  is  not  exactly  inhabited  by 
whites,  as  you  suppose,  for  we  are  only  a  small 
party  of  ship- wrecked  travellers.  We  have  been 
here  for  three  years,  aud  I  can  tell  you  we  will  be 
glad  enough  to  get  a  chance  to  leave.” 

While  this  conversation  was  taking  place  the 
two  boats  had  reached  the  shore  where  a  large 
body  of  natives  had  collected.  The  two  girls  were 
also  there.  The  excitement  was  intense,  as,  of 
course,  all  realized  that  the  coming  of  this  vessel 


102 


The  God  of  Civilization. 

furnished  means  of  escape  from  the  island. 

“Where  do  you  live?”  inquired  Mate  Jenkins. 
“This  don’t  look  like  the  likeliest  place  in  the 
world  to  live  in,  now,  does  it  ?  ” 

“I  must  say,  this  side  of  the  island  is  not  a 
promising  looking  place,”  replied  the  captain, 
‘  ‘but  the  other  side  is  quite  different,  in  fact,  it  is 
a  delightful  place,  if  it  were  not  that  we  are  in  ex¬ 
ile  here.  ’  ’ 

“How  is  the  water  supply  on  this  side  ?  ” 

“Fine;  it  couldn’t  be  better  or  handier.  Right 
beyond  that  next  turn,  is  a  stream  of  water  as 
sweet  and  pure  as  one  could  find  in  many  a  month’s 
travel.  ’  ’ 

“Now,  I  swan,  that’s  good.  I  didn’t  know  but 
what  we’d  have  to  bring  it  over  from  the  other 
side.  ’  ’ 

The  work  of  filling  casks  which  they  had 
brought  with  them,  and  conveying  them  to  the 
ship  was  soon  begun. 


The  God  of  Civilisation . 


103 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

The  excitement  caused  by  the  arrival  of  the  Eliza 
Judd  was  intense,  as  she  was  the  first  craft  the 
islanders  had  ever  seen,  with  the  exception  of  the 
lief-boat  in  which  Captain  Gray  and  his  companions 
had  come  ashore.  The  water  was  soon  dotted  by 
dozens  of  canoes,  bearing  them  out  to  inspect  this 
wonder  of  man’s  creation. 

“Well,  is  your  trunk  all  packed  for  the  trip 
home?”  asked  Captain  Gray,  with  a  laugh,  of  Ma¬ 
bel,  who  stood  near  him. 

“Well,  I  must  say,  our  packing  will  not  take  us 
long,”  she  replied,  “but  do  you  know,  Captain 
Gray,  I  hate  to  leave  the  island  of  Kaahlanai?  I 
have  been  so  happy  here.  ’  ’ 

“Oh,  nonsense,  what  do  you  find  here  to  make 
you  forget  the  life  of  your  own  country,  except  it 
may  be,  your  handsome  rascal  Ahleka.  There  lies 
the  secret  of  your  liking  for  this  country,  I  expect.  ’  ’ 
“Oh,  of  course,  that  has  something  to  do  with 
it;  but  still  there  is  so  much  more  real  enjoyment 
in  the  lives  of  these  people  than  at  home,  that  I 
cannot  bear  to  leave  it  all.” 

“By  the^way,  when  you  get  home  again,  what  do 
you  think  your  father  is  going  to  say  to  your  attach¬ 
ment  for  Ahleka  ?  I  think  myself,  that  he  will  soon 


104  The  God  of  Civilization. 

put  a  stop  to  it.  If  he  does  not,  he  is  not  the 
sensible  man  I  take  him  to  be.  ’  ’ 

“He  cannot  put  a  stop  to  it,”  said  Mabel,  firmly, 
then  turned  to  join  Ahleka  who  stood  a  few  steps 
away.  The  two  lovers,  leaving  the  rest  of  the 
party,  walked  on  in  silence  for  some  time,  the  heart 
of  each  too  full  for  speech.  Finally  coming  to  a 
clump  of  trees,  under  which  the  grass  was  thick 
and  long,  they  sat  down. 

Ahleka  was  the  first  to  break  the  silence  by  say¬ 
ing:  “Are  you  going  to  leave  Ahleka,  my  fair  moon 
flower  ?  Are  you  going  to  leave  fair  Kaahlanai, 
the  isle  of  the  sun,  and  once  more  return  to  your 
own  home  far  across  the  water  ?  What  shall  I  do, 
my  love,  if  you  leave  me?” 

“Yes  Ahleka,  my  prince.  I  must  leave  Kaahla¬ 
nai  and  return  to  my  own  land,  for  there  my  father 
mourns  for  me.  I  was  his  only  happiness  and  I 
must  go  back  to  him;  but  the  thought  of  being  se¬ 
parated  from  you  is  as  bitter  to  me  as  it  is  to  you. 
But  why  cannot  you  go  with  me  ;  then  my  father 
may  bless  our  union.  ’  ’ 

“Do  you  wish  me  to  go  ?  You  know  that  your 
wish  is  my  law.  You  have  but  to  make  a  request 
and  it  shall  be  granted,  even  if  it  costs  my  life. 
Yes,  if  it  is  your  wish  I  will  go.” 

‘  ‘It  is  my  wish,  and  you  have  made  me  so  happy 
by  your  consent.  Now  my  heart  shall  not  be  so 
sad  at  leaving  Kaahlanai,  where  I  have  been  so 
content  and  happy,  where  I  have  learned  so  much 
that  is  pure  and  true.  ’ 9 


The  God  of  Civilization.  105 

“But,”  queried  Ahleka,  “will  you  still  love  me 
when  you  have  once  more  seen  the  difference  be¬ 
tween  myself  and  the  men  of  yoiir  own  nation  ? 
Will  your  hearf* still  beat  alone  for  him  whose 
life  is  worthless  without  your  love?” 

As  he  spoke  he  suddenly  caught  her.  in  his  arms 
and  held  her  closely  to  him,  looking  into  her  eyes 
with  an  expression  almost  fierce,  so  intense  were 
his  feelings. 

‘  ‘Ah,  Ahleka,  I  can  never  love  any  one  but  you. 
You  are  the  one  man,  in  all  the  world  to  me.  I 
love  you  far  better  each  day.  I  would  do  anything 
to  prove  my  love  to  you.” 

“Would  you?  Suppose  I  were  to  try  your  love 
in  the  shape  of  physical  suffering  ?  ’  ’ 

“Ask  whatever  proof  you  wish,  I  will  give  it 
willingly,  ’  ’  was  the  answer  to  his  strange  question. 

“In  the  olden  times,”  he  began,  “when  the  dif¬ 
ferent  villages  of  Kaahlanai  were  unfriendly  to 
one  another,  they  were  continually  at  war,  and 
when  the  warriors  left  to  fight  for  their  village,  it 
was  their  custom  to  ask  of  their  wives  a  proof  of  their 
love  and  devotion.  This  proof  consisted  in  cutting 
from  the  arm  of  the  wife  a  small  piece  of  flesh  and 
a  corresponding  piece  from  the  husband’s  arm,  and 
transferring  the  flesh  of  oiie  arm  to  the  other.  Can 
your  love  stand  so  severe  a  test?  ” 

Mabel  looked  at  him  a  moment  and  then  quietly 
said,  ‘  ‘I  love  you,  Ahleka,  there  is  my  arm ;  do  as 
you  please  with  it,”  at  the  same  time  extending 
her  fair,  round  arm,  which  was  bare,  except  that  a 


106  The  God  of  Civilization . 

number  of  shell  bracelets  adorned  it.  Ahleka 
took  her  hand  and  covered  the  delicate  arm  with 
his  impassioned  kisses. 

“We  will  go,”  he  said,  “to  Kalin.  He  will 
perform  for  us,  the  test  of  faith.”  Kalui  was  an 
old  man  of  Howcu,  who  attended  the  sick,  if  there 
were  any  on  the  island.  Howcu  was  much  nearer 
the  little  cove  where  they  were  seated  than  was  Na¬ 
ll  ua.  On  reaching  the  house  of  Kalui,  Ahleka  quick¬ 
ly  made  known  to  him  the  object  of  their  visit.  The 
old  man  was  surprised  at  the  request,  for  it  had 
been  many  a  year  since  he  had  been  called  upon  to 
assist  a  loving  couple  in  making  this  painful  avow¬ 
al  of  their  devotion.  Turning  to  Mabel,  he  asked, 
“And  can  the  maiden  endure  the  pain?  can  she 
stand  the  sight  of  the  blood  ?  If  she  is  willing  to 
do  this,  she  does  indeed,  love  Ahleka.” 

“Yes,”  answered  Mabel,  “I  am  determined. ” 

The  bronzed  arm  of  Ahleka  was  now  held  firmly 
in  Kalui’ s  left  hand,  while  in  his  right  he  held  a 
little  instrument  resembling  a  pair  of  scissors.  He 
quickly  cut  a  piece  of  quivering  flesh  from  the  arm, 
above  the  elbow.  Ahleka  instantly  placed  his 
finger  over  the  bleeding  wound.  Mabel  then  ex¬ 
tended  her  arm,  at  the  same  time  averting  her  head. 
In  an  instant  the  cruel  cut  was  made,  and  the  dark 
lined  circle  from  Ahleka’ s  arm  was  placed  in  the 
wound  on  Mabel’s  arm,  which  was  quickly  bound 
about  with  soft  fibre  cloth;  then,  the  little  white 
bit  of  skin  was  bound  on  Ahleka’ s  arm.  Thanking 
Kalui,  they  retraced  their  footsteps  to  the  beach . 


The  God  of  Civilisation .  107 

“Now  Ahleka,  do  you  doubt  my  love  ?”  enquired 
Mabel,  as  they  walked  slowly  back. 

“No,  I  do  not  doubt  you,  liow  could  I?  but  I 
have  a  terrible  dread  of  the  difference  you  will  see 
between  the  young  men  of  your  country  and  my¬ 
self.  They  have  the  advantage  of  me  in  education, 
refinement,  in  fact  in  everything. 5  ’ 

“Not  in  everything,  and  really,  but  in  very  few 
things;  not  in  refinement,  surely,  for  no  refinement 
can  be  greater  than  true  manliness.  You  have  been 
taught  to  be  honest,  generous,  gentle  and  just,  and 
no  amount  of  education  could  make  you  more  fit 
to  be  loved,  trusted  and  honored  than  you  are .  In 
the  knowledge  of  books,  and  in  the  ways  of  the 
world  beyond  your  own  beautiful  island,  you  are, 
to  be  sure,  untaught.  But  that  is  a  little  matter; 
you  can  soon  learn  all  you  need  to  know  of  that.  ’  ’ 
“Is  it  true  that  you  feel  so?  But  still,  I  fear 
that  when  you  see  me  ridiculed  and  made  light  of, 
on  account  of  my  ignorance,  your  heart  will  grow 
cold  toward  me.  ’  ’ 

“Never  while  I  live,  can  that  happen,  Ahleka. 
The  woman  is  not  worthy  the  name,  who  would  let 
the  words  or  actions  of  others  turn  her  against  the 
man  she  has  promised  to  love.  ’  ’ 

Ahleka  bent  over  her  and  gently  touched  his 
lips  to  her  shining  hair.  “Ah,”  said  he,  “could 
any  man  have  sweeter  proof  of  woman’s  love  than 
you  have  given  to  me  !  ” 

They  had,  by  this  time,  reached  the  beach  where 
the  sailors  from  the  Eliza  Judd  and  the  inhabitants 


108  The  God  of  Civilization . 

of  Kaahlanai  were  collected.  As  they  approached, 
Captain  Gray  addressed  them,  “The  task  of  sup¬ 
plying  the  Judd  with  water  is  about  completed. 
The  captain  and  part  of  the  crew  are  going  over 
to  the  village  to  have  dinner  with  us.  Then  be¬ 
fore  sunset,  we  will  return  here,  whence  we  will 
take  the  boats  for  the  Judd  and  at  last  be  on  our 
way  home.” 


The  God  of  Civilization . 


109 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

“Now,  that  you  have  seen  our  island -home,  what 
do  you^think  of  it?”  inquired  Mabel  of  Captain 
Harris,  of  the  Eliza  Judd.  Do  you  not  think  it  a 
most  delightful  place?  ” 

“Well,  I  can’t  say  as  I  would  like  to  live  here 
the  rest  of  my  days  myself;  but  of  course  it’s  all 
right  for  them  that  like  it,”  answered  Captain 
Harris. 

“Oh,  it  is  so  lovely  here.  I  cannot  imagine  a 
pleasanter  place  in  the  world.  ’  ’ 

“Is  that  so,  now?  but  all  seem  mighty  glad  to 
go  away  from  it  all  the  same.  How  do  you  ac¬ 
count  for  that,  young  lady  ?  ’  ’ 

“We  are  not  all  glad  to  leave.  There  are  some 
of  our  party  who  will  not  go,  but  will  always 
make  their  home  on  this  island,  and  I  should  not 
leave  it,  were  it  not  for  my  father;  but  I  feel  it  my 
duty  to  go  back  to  see  him.  ’  ’ 

“Come,  girls,”  said  Captain  Gray,  “have  you 
said  good-bye  to  all  your  friends?  It’s  about  time 
we  left  for  the  cove.  Come,  Ahleka,  we  may  as 
well  start,  for,  to  tell  the  truth,  I  am  in  something 
of  a  hurry  to  get  off.  ’  ’ 

The  party  soon  left  for  the  other  side  of  the 
island,  where  the  boats  were  waiting  for  them. 


no 


The  God  of  Civilisation . 


On  the  way  over  to  the  boats  Etta  managed  to 
have  a  few  private  words  with  Uala.  Arriving  at 
the  beach,  Uala  went  to  Captain  Gray  and  said, 
“Captain  Gray,  your  daughter  and  I  have  long 
loved  one  another,  but  we  have  forborne  to  speak 
until  to-day,  as  we  had  hoped,  in  time,  that  you 
would  reverse  your  decision  that  she  should  not 
marry  on  Kaahlanai.  Now  we  beg  your  cpnsent 
to  our  union.  I  will  go  to  America  and  will  study 
that  I  may  be  more  her  equal.  Will  you  not  con¬ 
sent  ?  ’  ’ 

Captain  Gray’s  face  was  fairly  purple  with  rage 
as  he  answered,  “No,  you  black  rascal,  I  would 
rather  see  her  die  before  my  eyes  than  have  her 
marry  you.  ’  ’ 

Etta  clung  closely  to  Uala,  saying,  “And  I 
would  rather  die  than  be  parted  from  Uala.” 

Uala’s  manner  quickly  changed,  and  turning 
again  to  Captain  Gray,  he  said,  “I  bow  to  your 
right,  as  a  father,  but  if  I  must  give  up  all  thought 
of  Etta,  may  I  at  least  ask  a  few  moments  conver¬ 
sation  with  her,  a  few  steps  apart  from  the  rest, 
that  I  may  say  good-bye  to  her  forever.  ’  ’ 

Captain  Gray  could  but  grant  this  request,  which 
was  so  humbly  made.  The  two  walked  a  short 
distance  down  the  rocky  side  of  the  cove  to  a  place 
where  there  was  a  most  curious  cave,  called  by  the 
islanders  ama  wai,  or  spouting  waters,  on  account 
of  its  peculiar  formation .  The  mouth  lay  deep 
beneath  the  bed  of  the  sea  and  there  was  an  outlet 
reaching  up  to  where  they  stood.  Through  this 


Ill 


The  God  of  Civilization . 

outlet  came  the  spray  of  the  boiling,  seething 
waters,  which  rushed  madly  through  the  cave  below. 
As  they  stood  on  the  brink  of  this  cave,  in  full 
view  of  Captain  Gray,  and  the  group  gathered  on 
the  beach,  Uala,  whose  strong,  wild  nature  was 
moved  by  the  distant  sobbing  and  roaring  of  the 
surf,  bent  over  Etta,  whispering  in  her  ear:  “You 
said,  a  short  time  ago,  you  would  rather  die  than 
be  separated  from  me ;  do  you  mean  it  ?’  ’ 

“I  do,”  came  the  response. 

“Then,  we*,  shall  go  together  to  the  bottom  of 
this  cave  where  dwells  the  sea  god,  ’  ’  saying  which 
he  threw  one  strong,  sinewy  arm  about  her  yield¬ 
ing  form,  and,  with  one  wild  plunge  both  were  lost 
to  view  beneath  the  surging,  seething  mass  of 
water.  They  had  hardly  disappeared  beneath  the 
engulfing  waves  before  Captain  Gray  was  at  the 
mouth  of  the  cave,  calling  upon  the  name  of  his 
daughter,/ 

About  an  hour  afterwards  Captain  Harris  ap¬ 
proached  Captain  Gray  and  said:  “Captain  Gray, 
if  you  are  going  with  us,  we  will  have  to  set  out 
for  the  vessel  right  away.  I  hate  to  intrude  on 
your  sorrow  for  the  loss  of  your  daughter,  but,  if 
we  are  going  to  get  away  from  the  island  to-night, 
we  have  got  to  weigh  anchor  right  off,  for  I  dare’nt 
stay  long  in  this  neighborhood,  for,  as  you  know 
it’s  a  devilish  place  for  storms  and  I’ll  be  mighty 
glad  to  get  clear  of  these  coral  reefs,  which  are 
very  pretty  things  to  look  at  from  the  shore,  with 
the  breakers  dashing  over  them ;  but  they  are  deuc- 


112 


The  God  of  Civilisation . 

edly  ugly  things  for  a  vessel  to  be  too  close  to,  and 
you  know  liow  very  treacherous  the  winds  are  in 
these  parts.  If  we  stay  much  longer  we  may  be 
dashed,  like  a  bit  of  drift  wood,  clean  upon  that 
ragged  reef.  Will  you  come  with  us,  or  will  you 
stay  that  you  may,  perhaps,  regain  the  body  of  your 
daughter  ?’ 5 

Captain  Gray  turned  toward  him  with  a  face 
horribly  changed  in  the  last  brief  hour,  and 
answered  in  a  dazed  manner,  “Yes,  I  will  go.  I 
want  to  leave  this  place  that  has  robbed  me  of  my 
child.  Why,  oh  why  have  I  been  made  to  witness  the 
awful  death  of  each  member  of  my  family  ?  Yes, 
I  want  to  leave  this  accursed  island,”  saying  which 
he  walked  slowly  away  from  the  cave,  where  Etta 
and  Uala  had  sunk  from  sight,  and  accompanied 
Captain  Harris  to  the  boat,  in  which  Mabel  was 
already  seated. 

The  farewells  were  loving  and  sorrowful  be¬ 
tween  the  departing  loved  ones  and  those  they  were 
leaving  behind.  About  the  necks,  upon  the  heads 
and  around  the  waists  of  Ahleka  and  Mabel  had 
been  placed  many  a  fragrant  leis,  or  wreath, 
wrought  by  loving  hands. 

“Good-bye,  Allen,  my  brother.  May  the  sun  of 
happiness  never  be  dimmed  for  you  and  Maula,  my 
sister.  May  your  lives  be  as  a  day  in  the  time  of 
the  blossoming  of  the  fiku-trees,  which  are  so 
perfect  as  to  leave  nothing  to  be  longed  for.  May 
your  children  be  as  straight  as  young  palm-trees, 
and  as  unchangeable  in  their  devotion  to  their  pa- 


The  God  of  Civilization .  113 

rents,  as  is  the  pearl,  which,  through  life  or  death 
clings  to  the  oyster  which  produces  it.  Now  that 
I  am  leaving  my  people,  you  two  will  rule  over 
them.  Govern  them  with  love,  and  that  love  will 
be  returned  to  you  a  thousand  fold.  Our  sister, 
Kaelea,  I  give  into  your  keeping  until  the  next 
festival,  when  she,  under  your  guidance,  shall  rule 
her  people,  ’  ’  saying  which,  Ahleka  embraced  Al¬ 
len  and  Kaelea  for  the  last  time,  then  stepped  into 
the  boat  which  was  to  bear  him  to  new  sensations 
and  strange  experiences  amidst  civilization.  As 
the  boat  pulled  off  to  the  Eliza  Judd,  a  sweet  song 
of  sad  regret  was  borne  over  the  water  to  the  trav¬ 
ellers.  Of  the  seven  who  had  landed  on  this  hap¬ 
py  shore  three  years  before,  only  three  were  now 
leaving,  Captain  Gray,  Mabel  Miller  and  Hans  who 
was  going  back  to  his  dear  loving  wife  whom  he 
loved  so  devotedly,  and  to  his  fat,  little  cherub, 
Katrina. 

“Ah,  Katrina,  won’t  she  be  glad  to  see  her 
papa  again,  though ;  ’  ’  how  often,  during  that  happy 
day,  did  this  thought  occur  to  Hans.  The  other 
two  sailors  had  found  the  ideal  life  of  Kaahlanai 
too  pleasant  to  leave.  Allen  was  true  to  his  word 
to  his  father  and  his  love  for  his  beautiful  wife 
Maula;  in  fact,  he  had  not  the  slightest  longing  to 
again  visit  the  realms  of  civilization .  Then  Etta, 
bright,  happy  Etta,  was  beneath  the  waves  of  the 
ever  changing  sea . 

When  the  Eliza  Judd  had  received  her  new-found 
passengers,  she  seemed  to  arouse  herself  from  a 


1 14  The  God  of  Civilization . 

summer  day’s  sleep,  and  give  herself  a  shake  to 
see  if  she  were  really  awake,  for  no  sooner  was  the 
boat  hoisted  to  the  davits  then  the  sails  were 
swiftly  unfurled,  and,  as  they  quickly  filled  with 
the  fresh  breeze,  the  Eliza  Judd  stood  out  to  sea, 
like  a  bird  that  has  been  imprisoned,  spreads  its 
wings  and  starts  on  its  glad  flight  to  freedom.  This 
majestic  vessel,  going  noiselessly  on  her  way,  was 
a  sight  that  aroused  the  wonder  and  admiration  of 
the  watchers  on  the  beach. 


The  God  of  Civilization. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

After  losing  sight  of  Kaahlanai,  the  party 
of  travellers  on  the  Eliza  Judd  turned  their  atten¬ 
tion  to  providing  themselves  with  clothing,  which 
would  at  least  be  presentable  for  them  to  appear  in 
when  they  should  reach  America.  It  was  easy 
enough  to  fit  out  Captain  Gray,  Ahleka  and  Hans 
from  Captain  Harris’  store  of  clothing,  but  Mabel, 
what  was  she  to  do  for  wearing  apparel  ?  That  was 
the  question.  Sheets  were  made  by  her  deft  fingers 
to  serve  as  under  garments,  and  some  brown  linen, 
which  had  been  used  to  cover  chairs  and  a  couple 
of  couches,  was  turned  into  a  dress  that  was  sur¬ 
prisingly  becoming,  considering  the  material  used 
in  its  construction.  Mabel’s  preparations  to  step 
ashore  in  San  Francisco  were  completed  the  day 
before  arriving  there . 

“Now,  Ahleka,  how  do  you  like  my  appear¬ 
ance?”  Mabel  inquired,  after  having  arrayed  her¬ 
self  in  her  simple  garments . 

“You  always  look  charming  in  my  eyes,”  he  re¬ 
plied,  “still,  I  cannot  but  think  that  the  costume* 
of  our  country  allows  more  freedom  of  movement, 
and  on  that  account  it  is  much  more  graceful  and 
becoming.  ’  ’ 

“Yes,  what  you  say  is  true  and  I  admit  that  I 


ii6  The  God  of  Civilization. 

hate  to  put  on  again  the  uncomfortable  clothes 
which  women  wear  in  my  own  land.” 

“What  is  that  you  say  Mabel  ?”  broke  in  Captain 
Gray.  “Do  you  mean  to  say  that  you  like  the 
hideous  dress  of  the  heathens  that  we  have  lived 
amongst  for  the  past  three  years  ?’  ’ 

“Captain  Gray,  they  are  not  heathens.  Their 
religion  is  the  true  religion.  They  worship  the 
bestower  of  all  good;  they  see  the  beautiful  works 
of  God  all  about  them  and  give  him  the  glory. 
Their  religion  is  sincerity,  purity  and  love.  What 
more  can  there  be  in  any  religion  ? 

“You  talk  it  very  nicely  Mabel,  and  I  presume 
you  believe  what  you  say ;  it  is  as  well  that  you  do, 
as  you  are  going  to  marry  Ahleka;  but  I  said,  and 
I  meant  it  too,  that  I  would  rather  see  Etta  die 
than  have  her  marry  one  of  those  heathens,  and, 
mourning  for  my  dead  child  as  deeply  as  I  do,  I 
still  say  that  I  would  rather  have  her  dead  than 
married  to  Uala  or  any  other  beggarly,  black-skin¬ 
ned  rascal.” 

“Captain  Gray,  your  daughter  is  not  dead,”  broke 
in  Ahleka.  “She  has  a  much  happier  fate,  for,  in 
all  likelihood,  she  is,  before  this  time,  happily 
united  to  the  man  of  her  choice,  from  whom  she 
would  not  part  at  the  command  of  her  father.” 

“What  do  you  mean,  Etta  not  dead?  Do  you 
mean  to  say  that  she  was  not  drowned  in  the  sea- 
cave?  Why  didn’t  you  tell  me  before  we  left  the 
island,  that  she  might  still  be  alive?”  exclaimed 
Captain  Gray. 


ii7 


The  God  of  Civilization. 

“Because,”  replied  Ahleka,  “I  knew  that  you 
would  part  those  two  fond  hearts  which  nature  had 
intended  for  each  other.” 

“You  worthless  wretch  !  how  dared  you  keep  it 
from  me,  her  father  ?  But  what  better  could  I  ex¬ 
pect  from  you,  a  fellow  of  no  principle  or  educa¬ 
tion,  than  trickery  or  deception.” 

“You  wrong  me,  Captain  Gray;  you  never  asked 
me  *of  the  possibility  of  Etta  being  still  alive  or  I 
should  have  felt  that  I  must  tell  you  the  truth, 
however*much  I  disliked  to  do  so.  But,  as  you 
asked  no  one  the  question,  none  felt  called  upon  to 
betray  to  you  the  probable  safety  of  Etta  and  Uala, 
as  it  would  not  be  keeping  faith  with  those  whom 
we  had.  every  reason  to  wish  to  aid  in  their  plan  of 
escape.  ’ 5 

“You  are  an  accursed  lot  and— — ” 

“Captain  Gray,  how  dare  you  speak  so  of  the 
people,  who  for  three  years,  have  done  everything 
possible  for  your  comfort  and  happiness,”  ex¬ 
claimed  Mabel.  ‘ ‘I  left  home  in  your  vessel  re¬ 
specting  you  as  my  father’s  friend,  but  I  never 
wish  to  speak  again  to  you,  a  man  who  has  shown 
himself  dead  to  all  feelings  of  gratitude,  lost  to  all 
sense  of  justice.  How  can  you  blame  any  one  for 
the  fact  that  Etta  obeyed  the  dictates  of  her  con¬ 
science  and  heart  ?  ”  Having  said  which,  Mabel 
took  Ahleka’ s  arm  and  walked  rapidly  to  the  oth¬ 
er  end  of  the  vessel.  It  was  with  a  feeling 
of  relief  that  she  realized  that  on  the  next 
day  they  should  in  all  probability  reach  San  Fran- 


n8  The  God  of  Civilization . 

cisco,  then  she  would  no  longer  be  thrown  in  con¬ 
tact  with  a  man  so  repulsive  to  her  as  Captain 
Gray  had  become. 

It  was  indeed  true,  as  Ahleka  had  said,  Uala 
and  Etta  were  not  dead.  After  the  first  wild 
plunge  into  the  rushing  waters,  Uala  had  pressed 
on  with  Etta  clasped  by  one  arm,  until  they  came 
to  a  large,  open  space,  where  the  floor  of  the  cave 
was  smooth  and  raised  so  that  no  water  reached  it ;  it 
was,  in  fact,  an  immense  under-ground  cave.  After 
carrying  Etta  to  a  place  of  safety,  he  threw  himself 
down  beside  her,  showering  frantic  kisses  upon  her 
upturned  face.  “My  little  sea  queen,  you  have 
braved  the  terrors  of  the  deep,  and  faced  death  for 
my  sake.  Now,  when  I  feel  sure  that  the  vessel 
has  left,  we  will  go  back  together,  to  life  and  happi¬ 
ness.  See,  here  are  things  provided  for  you  to  eat,  ’  ’ 
pointing  to  a  liberal  supply  of  food,  which  was 
placed  on  a  ledge  of  rocks,  high  out  of  the  reach 
of  the  waves,  “and  here  is  kapa  to  keep  the  deli¬ 
cate  limbs  of  my  dear  one  warm,”  saying  which 
he  opened  a  water-tight  calabashe,  from  which  he 
took  some  fine  fiber  cloth  and  wrapped  about  her. 

“I  came  here  while  the  rest  were  at  the  village 
at  their  supper,  and  brought  these  things,  so  that, 
if  my  fair  one  came  here  with  me,  she  should  at 
least  not  suffer  from  cold  or  hunger.” 

The  hours  passed  unheeded  by  the  happy  pair 
until,  finally,  Etta  dropped  into  a  sweet  sleep. 
When  she  awoke,  Uala,  who  had  remained  awake 
that  he  might  see  that  no  harm  befell  Etta,  said, 


The  God  of  Civilization, .  119 

“I  think  that,  by  this  time,  the  sun  shines  again 
above  us.  I  will  go  to  the  opening  of  the  cave 
and  learn  if  the  ship  is  still  here . 5  5 

“Oh  Uala,  do  not  leave  me  here.  I  was  not 
afraid  to  come  with  you,  but  I  am  so  afraid  to  stay 
for  one  moment  without  you,”  cried  Etta,  clinging 
to  his  arm. 

“I  shall  not  leave  you  for  one  moment,  but  do 
you  see  those  large  leaves  floating  in  the  water  over 
there?  On  those  leaves,  in  all  likelihood,  is  a 
message  sent  to  me  by  friends  above .  ’ 5 

“Do  others  know  of  this  cave  then?  Will  they 
not  tell  my  father?”  she  asked  in  some  alarm. 

“No,  do  not  fear.  None  of  my  people  would 
betray  a  friend.  But,  let  us  see  the  message,”  say¬ 
ing  which  he  advanced  to  a  place  where  several 
large  leaves  were  revolving  slowly  in  the  water, 
being  carried  about  by  the  whirlpool.  Catching 
hold  of  a  couple  of  these,  he  found  that  it  was  as 
he  had  thought.  They  each  bore  a  message,  written 
on  their  smooth  surface  with  the  point  of  a  sharp 
stick. 

“See,  Etta,”  he  exclaimed,  “it  is  just  as  I 
thought.  We  are  free.  Your  father  has  gone. 
Now  we  will  return  to  our  friends.” 

Holding  her  tightly  in  his  arms,  he  made  a 
spring  into  the  center  of  the  pool .  Instantly  they 
were  carried  upward  by  the  mad  rush  of  water.  I11 
a  moment  they  stood  breathless  and  safe  011  the 
rocky  beach  once  more . 

“Eook  Etta,  there  are  our  friends  who  have 


120 


The  God  of  Civilization . 

waited  here  for  our  return.  ’  ’  A  large  body  of  young 
people  rushed  toward  them,  singing  and  shouting. 
They  soon  covered  the  dripping  pair  with  garlands 
of  flowers,  and  bore  them  away  to  the  village  of 
Howcu,  to  the  home  of  Allen  and  Maula,  where  a 
grand  feast  had  been  prepared  for  the  returning 
merry  makers .  The  lives  of  these  two  were,  from 
that  day  forth,  a  dream  of  happiness. 


The  God  of  Civilisation. 


121 


CHAPTER  XXL 

The  morning  was  bright  and  beautiful  on  which 
the  Eliza  Judd,  with  her  returning  wanderers,  ar¬ 
rived  at  the  dock  at  San  Francisco. 

As  they  stepped  ashore  it  seemed  strange  to 
once  more  hear  the  commotion  and  bustle  of  a 
large  city,  the  cars  rumbling,  the  blowing  of  the 
whistles  and  a  thousand  and  one  noises  which  go 
to  form  the  city’s  din.  To  Ahleka,  it  was  not  only 
confusing,  but  also  startling. 

“What  is  that  we  hear,”  he  asked  of  Mabel,  “is 
there  war  in  your  land  ?  ” 

Mabel  laughed  heartily  as  she  replied,  “No, 
that  is  the  noise  made  by  the  march  of  civilization. 
It  is  no  army  of  warriors  that  you  hear,  but  the 
vast  army  of  workmen  pursuing  their  daily  voca¬ 
tions,  but  I  confess  it  does  have  a  dreadful  sound. 
But  come,  let  us  take  a  carriage  to  my  father’s 
home ;  ”  at  which  they  stepped  into  a  carriage,  and 
after  giving  the  address  of  her  old  home,  they  were 
driven  rapidly  from  the  wharf.  Ahleka  was  much 
interested  in  the  horses.  As  they  were  driving 
along  he  remarked,  “Who  would  have  thought 
how  pleasant  it  is  to  be  carried  along  in  this  man¬ 
ner,  without  the  slightest  effort  on  one’s  own  part? 
Those  immense  structures  that  lift  their  heads  so 
nearly  to  the  sky,  what  are  they  ?’  ’ 


1 22 


The  God  of  Civilization. 

4  40h,  those  ?  They  are  simply  the  buildings  that 
are  considered  necessary  for  the  business  of  the 
city.  ’  ’ 

“Is  that  so?  I  thought,  perhaps,  they  were 
monuments  to  the  dead,  as  you  have  told  me  that 
your  people  erect  such  magnificent  tributes  to  their 
heroes. 5  5 

“They  are,  indeed,  monuments  to  the  dead,  but 
not  raised  in  their  honor  as  you  suppose.  Thou¬ 
sands  of  the  poor  have  worked,  suffered  and  died, 
that  a  few  men  might  reap  rich  harvests  of  gold, 
and  it  is  that  gold  which  has  built  these  magnificent 
buildings.  For  the  thousandth  part  of  the  money 
that  it  takes  to  build  one  of  these  structures,  hun¬ 
dreds  of  men  have  slaved  out  horrible  existences, 
and  have  died  without  one  gleam  of  gladness  ever 
having  come  into  their  lives.” 

“But  why  does  your  ruler  permit  this?  Why 
are  not  all  alike,  happy  and  equal  as  in  my  land?” 

“Ah,  Alileka,  this  is  civilization.  It  would 
never  do  for  every  one  to  be  happy  in  this  enlight¬ 
ened  country.  Equality  is  only  to  be  found  in 
savage  life.  Such  a  thing  as  universal  content¬ 
ment  could  not  be  allowed  here.  To  keep  the 
thousands  from  making  any  attempt  at  equality,  it 
requires  the  foot  of  prosperity  to  be  kept  firmly 
and  constantly  on  the  neck  of  adversity.” 

“But,  Mabel,  I  thought  that  your  country  was 
different  from  other  countries.  I  thought  that 
here,  all  men  were  free  and  equal,  that  one  man 
was  as  much  respected  as  another,  if  he  were  hon- 


The  God  of  Civilisation . 


123 


est  and  industrious.  That  is  what  my  father  used 
to  tell  me.  He  has  many  times  told  me  that  your 
country  was  the  haven  of  refuge  for  the  poor  but 
honest  men  of  all  other  lands.  Is  this  not  true?” 

“No,  not  in  practice.  It  is  the  theory  which 
we  hold,  but,  alas  !  we  do  not  put  into  practice. 
It  is  the  man  who  has  heaped  up  gold  that  is 
honored.  Wealth,  not  worth,  is  the  standard  by 
which  men  are  measured  now-a-days.  ” 

As  Mabel  finished  this  remark  the  carriage  stop¬ 
ped  in  front  of  a  substantial  looking  dwelling. 
Mabel  sprang  lightly  out  crying,  “Come,  Ahleka, 
we  are  home.  ’ 5 

The  bell  sounded  merrily,  as  she  gave  it  a  quick 
ring.  It  was  answered  by  her  aunt,  Mrs.  May¬ 
nard,  who,  upon  opening  the  door,  regarded  the 
pair  standing  in  front  of  her  with  a  look  of  bewil¬ 
derment  for  a  moment,  then  exclaimed,  “Good 
heavens  !  Mabel,  is  it  possible  that  you  have  come 
back?  But  what  a  fright  you  do  look  in  those 
clothes.  Where  in  the  world  did  you  get  them  ? 
You  look  as  if  you  had  just  come  out  of  the  ark. 
And  what  is  this - 5  5 

Before  she  could  say  another  word,  Mabel  inter¬ 
rupted  her  with :  ‘ ‘This  is  Ahleka,  the  king  of  the 
island  of  Kaahlanai  Aunt  Kate,  it  is  due  to  the 
kindness  of  himself  and  his  people  that  I  am  able 
once  more  to  see  you ;  for  it  is  they  who  have  cared 
for  my  every  want  since  we  were  ship-wrecked. 
But  where  is  my  father?  Why  don’t  you  tell  him 
that  I  am  at  home  ?  n 


124  The  God  of  Civilization . 

As  they  had  been  talking,  they  had  entered  the 
parlor,  and  Mrs.  Maynard  had  seated  herself  as  if 
there  was  nothing  further  to  do,  than  to  hear  all 
about  Mabel’s  adventures. 

“Poor  girl,”  exclaimed  Mrs.  Maynard,  “how 
thoughtless  I  am.  I  forgot  that  of  course  you  could 
not  hear  anything  that  had  happened  here  at  home, 
when  all  this  time  we  have  not  known  where  to 
send  any  letters  to  you.  Poor  child,  how  lonesome 
you  must  have  felt.  How  could  you  stand  it?” 

“Oh  aunt  Kate,  don’t  talk  of  anything  else,  until 
you  have  told  me  of  my  father.  How  is  he  and 
where  ?  Is  he  at  home  ?  I  want  to  go  to  him  this 
very  minute.”  As  Mabel  said  this  she  started 
toward  the  door. 

“Mabel,  dear,  come  back  and  sit  down,”  said 
Mrs.  Maynard,  putting  a  daintily  embroidered 
handkerchief  to  her  eyes,  which,  to  tell  the  truth, 
bore  no  traces  of  tears.  “Your  father,”  she  con¬ 
tinued,  “is  dead.  He  has  been  dead  for  two  years 
and  over;  he  died — let  me  see,  it  was  just  ten 
months  after  you  left  home.  Of  course  we  could 
not  send  you  word  as  we  thought  that  you  were 
drowned;  in  fact,  I  may  say  your  father  just  worried 
himself  to  death  thinking  of  you,  although  I  told 
him,  time  and  again,  it  was  so  foolish  of  him,  for, 
if  you  were  dead  it  couldn’t  be  helped,  and  if  you 
were  alive,  you  would  likely  be  taken  care  of  some¬ 
way,  as  it  really  happened,  you  see.  I  never  could 
see  the  sense  of  worrying  over  things  that  way, 
but,- my  poor,  dear  brother  was  different.”  Mabel 


1^5 


The  God  of  Civilization . 

sat  as  if  suddenly  turned  to  stone,  while  her  aunt 
delivered  this  long  distribe.  Slowly  she  seemed  to 
recover  herself  and  turned  to  her  aunt  a  face  that 
was  ashy  in  its  pallor,  as  she  almost  whispered: 

‘  ‘Dead !  Aunt  Kate,  did  you  say  dead  ?  Oh !  I 
never  thought  of  this .  My  father  who  was  always 
so  strong,  dead !  I  always  thought  of  him  as  broken 
hearted  by  the  loss  of  his  daughter.  Oh,  my 
father,  my  father.  ’ ’  As  these  words  passed  her  lips 
her  body  swayed  forward  slowly  and  she  would 
have  fallen  to  the  floor,  if  Ahleka  had  not  caught 
her  in  his  arms.  He  laid  her  gently  on  a  couch, 
which  stood  near  a  window,  supporting  her  head 
on  his  arm.  Mrs.  Maynard  rushed  here  and  there 
about  the  room  in  a  fruitless  search  for  some 
restorative,  wringing  her  hands  and  crying:  “Oh 
dear,  this  is  just  like  Mabel;  she  always  did  do  such 
unexpected  things.  I  never  saw  any  one  like  her.  ’  ’ 

“Get  some  water, ”  said  Ahleka,  briefly,  “and 
call  some  one  who  can  assist  her.” 

“I  will  get  the  water,  but  dear* me,  I  don’t  want 
any  one  to  see  her  until  she  is  properly  dressed; 
for,  of  course,  as  she  has  just  heard  of  her  father’s 
death  she  must  put  on  mourning,  even  if  he  has 
been  dead  two  years.”  With  this  she  left  the  room, 
soon  returning  with  the  water  Ahleka  had  asked 
for. 

Mabel  slowly  regained  a  sort  of  semi-conscious¬ 
ness,  but  for  hours  she  lay  as  motionless  as  one 
dead,  except  that  her  eyes  sometimes  moved 
slowly  about  the  room.  The  physician  who  had 


126 


The  God  of  Civilization . 


been  summoned,  gravely  shook  his  head  as  one 
remedy  after  another  failed  to  have  the  desired 
effect.  The  next  day  he  pronounced  it  a  case  of 
brain  fever. 

For  days  Mabel  hovered  on  the  borders  of  the 
shadowy  land  of  death.  Ahleka  scarcely  left  her 
bedside,  night  or  day,  not  withstanding  the  fact  that 
Mrs.  Maynard  was  horrified  at  the  frightful  im¬ 
propriety  of  such  a  proceeding;  in  spite  of  all  she 
would  say  or  do,  he  would  stay. 


The  God  of  Civilization . 


127 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

MabePs  convalescence  was  slow  and  tedious,  and, 
bad  it  not  been  for  the  constant  attendance  of 
Ahleka  in  the  sick-room,  Mabel  would  have  found 
it  hard  to  endure  the  weary  days.  Mrs.  Maynard 
was  glad  to  leave  the  care  of  Mabel  to  her  daugh¬ 
ter,  Eucy  Howard,  who  was  most  devoted  in  the  care 
of  the  sick  girl.  Eucy  had  remained  at  her  mother’s 
house  all  through  MabePs  illness.  She  grew  more 
and  more  attached  to  the  gentle  invalid  each  day. 
MabePs  strong,  self-reliant  nature  was  so  different 
from  her  own.  Eucy  was  one  of  those  women  to 
whom  love  and  kindly  treatment  seem  a  necessity 
of  life.  She  had  looked  for  love  from  her  mother, 
but  Mrs.  Maynard  was  not  a  woman  capable  of 
any  really  true,  deep  feeling,  and  when  her  daugh¬ 
ter  had  failed  to  be  a  social  success  she  could  only 
meet  Eucy’s  longing  for  sympathy,  with  disap¬ 
pointed  repining,  and  complaints  that  Eucy  was 
herself  responsible  for  her  own  unhappiness. 

In  Eucy  Howard’s  married  life  had  been  no 
gleam  of  happiness,  not  even  in  the  first  few 
months  of  wedded  life  did  Mr.  Harry  Howard 
think  it  necessary  to  defer  to  his  wife’s  wishes  in 
anything,  for,  he  would  say  to  himself,  “She  mar¬ 
ried  me  for  money  and  she  has  got  wfyat  she  mar- 


128  The  God  of  Civilization. 

ried  me  for;  while  I  married  her  because,  well,  just 
because  I  thought  she  would  make  me  a  stunning 
wife.  But,  bah  !  She  is  as  insipid  as  stale  cham¬ 
pagne.  What  man  wants  a  wife  who  acts  as  she 
does?  If  I’d  had  the  least  idea  that  she  would 
have  fallen  in  love  with  me,  her  own  husband,  I 
wouldn’t  have  married  her,  I  swear  I  wouldn’t. 
For,  about  the  most  unpleasant  thing  a  man 
can  have  happen  to  him  is  to  have  a  woman  fall 
desperately  in  love  with  him.  They’re  so  exacting.  ’  ’ 
In  this  way  the  dashing  Mr.  Howard  commiserat¬ 
ed  himself.  The  fact  that  the  heart  of  this  charming 
girl  of  eighteen,  who  possessed  a  sweet,  affection¬ 
ate  disposition,  in  spite  of  the  false  training  given 
her  by  her  mother,  should  have  turned  to  him 
with  a  vast  longing  for  his  love  in  return,  had 
struck  him  as  not  a  pleasant  thing.  During  the 
past  three  years  he  had  shamelessly  neglected  her, 
until  now,  Lucy  felt  only  an  intense  loathing 
when  she  thought  of  her  husband,  the  father  of 
her  little  Mae. 

During  the  time  that  Mabel  was  still  confined  to 
her  room,  the  most  affectionate  friendship  had 
sprung  up  between  the  two  cousins.  Lucy  had 
confided  to  Mabel  the  troubles  with  which  her  life 
was  so  full.  One  evening  the  two  had  been  sitting 
for  some  time  without  speaking,  when  suddenly 
Lucy  exclaimed  : 

“Mabel,  I  wish  I  could  take  my  little  Mae  away 
from  all  this  world  of  pretense  and  falsity,  to  some 
place  where  she  would  grow  up  among  those  who 


129 


The  God  of  Civilisation. 

are  pure  and  true  in  their  lives,  I  have  thought 
many  times — but  that  was  before  you  came  home 
— that  I  would  take  my  little  daughter  and  enter  a 
convent  ;  there,  in  religious  seclusion,  to  bring  her 
up  free  from  the  knowledge  of  the  hollowness  of 
the  world. 5  5 

“  I  am  thankful  if  my  coming  has  put  that  idea 
out  of  your  mind,  for  there  is  no  religion  so  false 
and  corrupt  as  the  Catholic  ;  instead  of  taking  her 
away  from  the  influence  of  corruption  of  all  kinds, 
you  would  only  have  exposed  her  to  still  worse 
deceit.  ’  ’ 

uDo  not  speak  so  bitterly  of  the  Catholic  faith, 
for  Mabel,  it  has  been  a  great  comfort  to  me  in  my 
unhappiness.” 

‘ c  That  may  well  be,  for  you  need  some  one  to 
whom  you  can  unbosom  your  sorrows,  but  I  still 
say  that  I  am  thankful  that  I  have  saved  my  little 
niece  from  so  horrible  a  fate  as  being  given,  body 
and  soul,  to  that  life  so  fascinating  to  contemplate, 
but  so  terrible  in  reality.” 

uBut  Mabel,  think  of  it,  when  she  is  a  little  older, 
she  will  realize  that  there  is  a  dreadful  gulf  be¬ 
tween  her  father  and  myself.  Then,  if  she  should 
ever  come  to  know,  as  I  do,  in  all  its  hideous  truth, 
the  fact  that  her  father  not  only  openly  defies  every 
supposed  law  of  morality,  but  seems  proud  of  the 
fact  that  he  does  so.  Think  Mabel,  of  my  position. 
I  know,  and  all  my  acquaintances  know  of  his 
avowed  admiration  for  Rosie  Hastings,  and  his 
constant  attendance  upon  her  on  all*  occasions.  Oh 


130  The  God  of  Civilisation . 

Mabel,  when  I  think  of  it  all,  it  seems  as  if  I 
should  go  crazy.  Does  society  shun  him  on  account 
of  his  glaring  misdemeanors  ?  No!  No  indeed.  If 
he  were  a  woman  he  would  not  dare  to  speak  to  a 
decent  person,  but  he  is  a  man,  and  a  man  with 
lots  of  money,  so  every  one  closes  their  eyes  to  his 
faults.  He  is  received  and  made  much  of  every¬ 
where.  Men  take  him  into  their  homes  and  present 
him  to  their  wives,  without  one  thought  of  the 
horrible  fact  that  he  is  dead  to  every  feeling  of 
respect  for  woman.  Mothers  allow  him  to  dance 
with,  and  to  amuse  their  innocent  young  daughters. 
Oh,  Mabel,  is  it  not  terrible?” 

uYes,  Huey,  it  is,  indeed,  and,  as  you  say,  it  is 
because  he  has  money.  Money  is  the  God  of  Civi¬ 
lization. 

At  this  moment  there  was  a  gentle  knock  at  the 
door  which  announced  the  entrance  of  Ahleka. 

uAh  !  you  have  returned  from  your  jaunt,  have 
you?  How  did  you  enjoy  it  all?”  asked  Mabel, 
as  he  sat  down  beside  her.  Ahleka  had  been  see¬ 
ing  the  wonders  of  San  Francisco,  under  the  gui¬ 
dance  of  Mr.  Faxon,  Mabel’s  lawyer.  They  had 
been  gone  all  day  and  it  was  now  late  in  the  even¬ 
ing. 

4  *Do  you  ask  me  how  I  like  it  all  ?  All  the 
answer  I  can  give,  my  moonflower,  is  Kaahlanai  is 
best.  We  will  talk  it  all  over  to-morrow,  but 
now  it  is  too  late  for  you  to  be  sitting  up,  so,  with 
wishes  that  only  sweet  thoughts  may  come  to  you 
in  the  still  hours  of  the  darkness,  I  will  say  good- 


The  God  of  Civilization. 


!3X 

night  to  you  both.”  Bowing  to  the  cousins,  he  left 
the  room,  The  conversation  which  Ahleka  had 
interrupted  was  not  resumed,  but  both  Lucy  and 
Mabel  still  thought  of  it  as  they  prepared  to  retire. 


132 


The  God  of  Civilisation . 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

The  day  after  the  arrival  of  the  Eliza  Judd,  Cap¬ 
tain  Gray  left  for  New  York,  where  his  former 
home  had  been.  His  long  exile  from  his  native 
land  and  the  loss  of  his  family  had  embittered  him. 
He  felt  no  desire  to  return  to  Kaahlanai,  where  his 
daughter  had  defied  his  commands,  following  the 
promptings  of  her  own  heart.  Life  seemed  to 
Captain  Gray,  a  battle  to  be  fought  anew.  He 
was  no  longer  young,  and  it  was  a  hard  trial,  at 
his  age,  to  face  the  loss,  not  only  of  his  family, 
but  also  his  vessel,  and,  with  her  almost  all  his 
worldly  possessions;  therefore,  we  need  not  be  sur¬ 
prized  that  he  appeared  a  broken  old  man,  as  he 
boarded  the  train  bound  eastward. 

“Lucy,”  said  Mabel  one  morning,  about  six 
months  after  the  arrival  of  the  Eliza  Judd  at  San 
Francisco,  “Ahleka  and  I  have  been  talking  over 
our  intended  return  to  Kaahlanai.  We,  both  of 
us  prefer  the  free  life  there,  to  that  which  is  led 
here.  We  have  chartered  the  Eliza  Judd  for  the 
trip.  Captain  Harris  says  that  he  will  be  ready  to 
leave  in  about  a  week.  ’  ’ 

“Oh!  Mabel,”  exclaimed  Lucy,  “how  am  I  going 
to  exist  without  you  ?  It  seems  dreadful  to  think 
of  yoiir  leaving  me  again;  but  Mabel,  after  all, 


I33 


The  God  of  Civilisation . 

why  need  you  leave  me  behind  ?  Cannot  my  little 
Mae  and  I  go  with  you  ?  There,  among  those 
people,  whom  you  have  already  taught  me  to  love, 
I  may  still  be  happy;  there  I  can  bring  my  darling 
child  up  according  to  the  dictates  of  nature,  and 
need  not  follow  the  false  ideas  that  are  adhered  to 
among  our  own  people.  May  we  go  with  you  ?’  ’ 

.  uInded  you  may ;  we  will  be  only  too  glad  to 
take  you  to  that  paradise  where  all  are  so  happy. 
But  your  husband,  will  he  not  object?  And  will 
not  your  mother  place  obstacles  in  your  way  ?” 

uMy  husband  has  passed  out  of  my  life  entirely. 
Why,  do  you  know,  it  has  been  over  two  months 
since  I  have  seen  him,  or  even  heard  from  him.  I 
know  he  is  travelling  somewhere  in  the  east  accom¬ 
panied  by  that  creature,  Rosie  Hastings.  As  to 
my  mother,  I  cannot  help  it,  if  she  does  not  like  it . 
I  shall  not  let  pass  this  opportunity  of  securing 
happiness  for  myself  and  Mae. 

“Fucy,  you  do  not  know  how  glad  I  am  that 
you  have  decided  to  accompany  us.  I  did  so  want 
to  ask  you  to  go,  but  thought  it  best  to  wait  until 
your  own  heart  made  you  speak.  ” 

That  same  afternoon  Mabel  had  a  long  talk  with 
Mr.  Faxon,  her  lawyer,  in  regard  to  money  matters, 
the  result  of  which  was,  that  Mabel  set  aside  a 
certain  sum  of  money  for  the  use  of  her  aunt,  Mrs. 
Maynard.  The  residue  of  her  property  was  to  be 
divided  amongst  deserving  people  of  the  middle 
class;  that  class,  whose  whole  existence  is  one 
struggle  to  get  on  in  life  without  letting  outsiders 


I34 


The  God  of  Civilisation. 


know  how  hard  the  battle  is,  in  which  they  fight. 

‘  ‘For  theirs  is  the  hardest  lot  of  all,  ’  ’  said  Mabel ; 
“they  cannot  ask  help,  and  cannot  take  it  without 
lowering  their  self  esteem.  The  very  poor  ask,  and 
receive  help,  but  these,  never;  they  must  suffer  in 
silence.  ’  ’ 

The  money  was  to  be  sent  to  them  in  such  a 
manner,  that  none  of  the  recipients  should  ever 
know  whose  hand  had  relieved  them  of  the  heavy 
burdens  they  had  borne  so  long  and  patiently. 

On  Wednesday  morning,  the  16th  of  April,  1890, 
there  was  a  wedding  at  Mrs.  Maynard’s  home, 
which  was  unique,  to  say  the  least  of  it.  The  few 
friends  who  had  assembled  to  witness  the  ceremony, 
were  astonished  beyond  expression,  to  see  the  bride 
and  groom  enter  the  room  clad,  not  in  the  conven¬ 
tional  bridal  array,  but  simply  wearing  the  grass 
skirts,  shell  bracelets  and  necklaces  belonging  to 
the  native  land  of  the  groom.  Mrs.  Maynard  felt 
that  she  could  never  get  over  the  disgrace  of  such 
an  unheard-of  performance. 

After  the  wedding,  the  happy  pair,  accompained 
by  Lucy  and  little  Mae,  left  for  the  Eliza  Judd. 
An  hour  later  the  Judd  was  towed  clear  of  her 
wharf,  and  Mabel  looked  for  the  last  time  on  the 
land  of  her  birth.  The  departure  was  watched  by 
a  curious  crowd  of  acquaintances,  who  all  wondered 
if  Mabel  were  not  a  little  affected,  mentally.  Little 
did  the  departing  voyagers  care  what  was  thought 
of  them;  they  were  content  to  know  that  they  had 
chosen  the  better  part. 


The  God  of  Civilisation .  135 

The  trip  to  Kaahlanai  was  uneventful.  Day 
after  day  being  passed  in  the  same  lazy  manner, 
until  one  morning  Captain  Harris  at  the  breakfast 
table,  said:  uWe  shall  see  Kaahlanai  to-day  and,  if 
the  wind  keeps  fair  as  it  is  now,  we  shall  land 
there  to-night .  ’  ’ 

His  words  proved  true.  ^  It  was  not  long  before 
they  sighted  the  island.  From  that  moment,  until 
they  landed  in  the  evening,  the  excitement  of  the 
little  party  was  intense.  The  ship  had  been  seen  by 
the  inhabitants  of  the  island,  so  that  by  the  time 
they  landed,  there  was  an  expectant  crowd  on  the 
beach.  Imagine  the  delight  of  th  e  assembled 
throng,  on  beholding  in  the  approaching  boat, 
Ahleka,  their  beloved  king,  and  Mabel,  whom 
they  loved  almost  as  dearly.  The  meeting  was 
touching  in  the  extreme ;  there  was  feasting  and 
merry  making  for  days  after  their  arrival.  Mabel 
and  Ahleka  tried  in  vain  to  induce  Captain  Harris 
to  remain  for  a  few  days  with  them,  but  he 
answered,  uNo.  As  you  know  I  came  considerably 
out  of  my  way  to  bring  you  here,  and  now  I  must 
be  on  my  way  to  Australia.  I  hope  I  shall  never 
have  to  come  into  such  a  dangerous  neighborhood 
again.”  So,  bidding  them  good-bye,  he  departed, 
leaving  them  happy  and  content,  to  be  again 
united  with  their  loved  ones  on  this  isle  of  the  sea, 
and  there  we  will  leave  them  also. 


THE)  E)ND. 


